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Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Spanish governemnt of using excessive force against peaceful Catalan protesters as they attempted to prevent the October 1st Catalonia independence referendum.

HRW indicated that although the Police may have had the backing of the law through a court order to stop the referendum, it had no right to unleash violence on peaceful protesters.

"Our detailed investigation into three cases found that national police and Civil Guard officers used excessive force on October 1 in Catalonia," said HRW's Kartik Raj.

"The police may well have had the law on their side to enforce a court order but it didn't give them the right to use violence against peaceful protesters."