Spain’s Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld key provisions of a disputed amnesty law for Catalan separatists involved in a failed 2017 push for the Catalonia’s independence.
Under the law, more than 300 people have been pardoned.
“This is magnificent news for Spain,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters in Brussels, adding that the amnesty served “to guarantee Spain’s unity as well as our development and prosperity and coexistence between citizens and regions.”
In 2023, Sanchez’s Socialist Party agreed to an amnesty with two Catalan separatist parties. The agreement was made in exchange for their support in a parliamentary vote, which allowed Sanchez to remain prime minister after the elections resulted in a hung parliament.
Last year, lawmakers narrowly approved the bill, but the conservative opposition has deemed the legislation unconstitutional. They claim it was passed solely as a Socialist maneuver to ensure their continued rule.
Court rejects most points of the appeal
The Constitutional Court announced that it had rejected most points of an appeal by the opposition conservative People’s Party (PP) against the amnesty’s constitutionality by a vote of six to four.
“Amnesty is not banned by the Constitution, and its adoption, when it responds to an exceptional situation and a legitimate public interest, may be constitutionally admissible,” the court, which has a majority of judges nominated by the Socialists, said in a statement.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling offers some relief to Sanchez and his Socialist Party, which has been caught up in corruption allegations involving senior officials.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo denounced the amnesty as “a corrupt transaction of impunity in exchange for power” and “an attack against the separation of powers.”
Puigdemont will not benefit from amnesty
The Constitutional Court ruling does not directly benefit Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan separatist leader who fled abroad to avoid prosecution after leading Catalonia’s regional administration during the 2017 referendum. He currently lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium.
The judge handling Puigdemont’s case said the amnesty does not apply to him because he is also being sued for embezzlement in diverting funds for the referendum, a charge he denies.
Puigdemont has appealed the decision, saying that the funds earmarked for the referendum were not for his personal gain. According to a court spokesperson, the Constitutional Court will not rule on the matter until later this year or next.
The separatist leader was Catalonia’s head of government in 2017, when the region unilaterally declared independence from Spain. This prompted Madrid to impose direct control, sparking Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
