A HUMAN rights group has accused Spanish authorities of obstructing investigations into police violence against Catalans trying to vote in the October 1 independence referendum, which left more than 1000 people injured.

In a report published yesterday, Amnesty International accused Spain’s attorney general’s office of being “disinterested” in finding out what happened on referendum day, which would “contravene its role as the promoter of investigation” and hinder the judicial process.

After the poll Amnesty urged Spain to urgently launch a thorough and impartial investigation into “the excessive and disproportionate use of force by members of the National Police and Civil Guard”, adding: “The misuse of force by law enforcement officers must be treated as a crime.”

It is now calling on the prosecutor’s office to “radically” change its attitude and take a proactive role in proceedings, and in particular those involving the most serious cases under investigation.

Amnesty also criticised the use of riot control equipment by National Police officers, such as rubber bullets: “Due to their lack of accuracy, they can cause serious injuries and pose a serious threat to people’s lives and bodily integrity.”

The report also reminds Spain of its obligation to investigate cases of excessive force: “States must guarantee the right to justice and the effective remedy for violations of human rights, as expressly included in international treaties in which Spain is a party, such as the Convention Against Torture.”

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish Prime Minister, yesterday appeared to open the door to dialogue with Catalonia, something pro-independence politicians have been seeking since the referendum and the imposition of direct rule that followed their declaration of independence.

In a TV interview, he said he was willing to open a “dialogue process” with Catalonia once a government was established that “does not divide” Catalans.

Rajoy said the political situation in the wealthy north-eastern state was “already a bit ridiculous”, adding, in a reference to deposed president Carles Puigdemont: “We are all pending for a man who has kidnapped the will of the parliament of Catalonia.”

He said Catalonia needed “recovering institutional, economic and social normality” and a government that all complied with the law.

“I am willing to speak to this government, with the only limit being that which is established by law,” he said.

He said forming a regional government was already a “national urgency” and claimed the lack of one was “affecting foreign investment and can affect the economy and well-being of people”.

Rajoy failed to mention the repeated attempts to install a Catalan president – Puigdemont, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Turull – which had all been blocked by Spain’s highly-politicised judiciary.

Leaders of PDeCAT – the Catalan European Democratic Party – were last night travelling to Puigdemont’s new exile in Berlin to choose yet another presidential nominee.

Marta Pascal, Neus Munté and Mercè Conesa will meet him in the German capital after Spain’s Constitutional Court blocked the latest moves to install him as president of Catalonia.