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A fugitive Catalan separatist leader was denied an amnesty on Monday in a ruling that threatens Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s fragile governing majority.
Spain’s supreme court ruled that the amnesty would not apply to one of the charges Carles Puigdemont faces in relation to an illegal bid for Catalan independence in 2017.
The judges’ decision adds a new coda to the most explosive move of recent years in Spanish politics and raises questions over the stability of Sánchez’s Socialist-led government, which needs the support of Puigdemont’s party to pass legislation.
The charges in question relate to the alleged misuse of public funds by Puigdemont, a former Catalan regional president who fled to Belgium after the failed referendum. He compared the court on Monday to the Italian mafia, writing “Toga nostra” on X in reference to the robes worn by judges.
Josep Rull, a top lawmaker in Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya party, said: “Denying the amnesty is a new act of infamy by the leadership of the Spanish judiciary.”
Oriol Bartomeus, a political scientist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said: “For Sánchez it means more problems with Junts because Junts will want to make him pay. It’s bad news.”
The judge’s decision can be appealed at the supreme court and at Spain’s constitutional court.
Sánchez had argued that the amnesty deal, which gave him the seven votes of Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya party in the national parliament, was needed to defuse the conflict over Catalonia’s status.
The prime minister’s critics called the amnesty plan an affront to the rule of law and proof of his willingness to do anything to stay in power. It triggered angry street protests and was opposed by two-thirds of Spaniards according to some polls.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the People’s party, Spain’s conservative opposition, mocked the ruling coalition. He said it had only had to pass “one law” and “they didn’t even know how to do that properly”.
Due to ructions over the amnesty plan and a series of elections, Spain’s parliament has not passed any other major legislation for more than a year.
Bartomeus noted that the judge’s ruling would also complicate drawn-out attempts to form a new regional government in Catalonia, where the Socialist party beat Puigdemont but fell short of a majority in elections in May.
After the failed independence referendum, Puigdemont fled Spain crouched on the back seat of a Škoda. While in exile in Belgium, he was elected a member of the European parliament.
The amnesty law, which came into force on May 30, is expected to cover hundreds of politicians, activists and ordinary citizens facing penalties over the Catalan independence cause.
Last week one of Puigdemont’s bodyguards became one of the law’s first beneficiaries, alongside the former head of Catalonia’s regional interior ministry, following court decisions on their cases. Both men had been handed prison sentences of at least four years last year.
But the supreme court judge said the amnesty did not apply to the misuse of funds charges facing Puigdemont because his conduct fell under two exceptions written into the law: the amnesty is not permitted for crimes committed for personal enrichment or for crimes that harm the EU’s financial interests.
However, the judge said the amnesty did apply to the other charges Puigdemont faces over disobedience.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
