Rome, 6 Oct. (LaPresse) – The Spanish Constitutional Court has paved the way for the return to Spain of the former president of the Generalitat, the Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont, nine years after he fled following the illegal referendum of 1 October 2017 and Catalonia’s subsequent unilateral declaration of independence. Despite the amnesty law, passed by Pedro Sánchez’s government in 2024, a national arrest warrant still hangs over Puigdemont, as the Supreme Court has ruled that the amnesty does not apply to one of the offences with which the Catalan leader is charged, namely the misappropriation of public funds for personal gain. The charge relates to the use of public funds for the referendum on Catalan independence. According to El Mundo, the Constitutional Court ruled today on a case involving another pro-independence leader, Dolores Bassa, establishing that the Supreme Court must apply the amnesty in her case regarding the charges of embezzlement. This decision means that the same principle must also be applied in the case of the former president of the Generalitat.
Spain: Constitutional Court paves the way for Puigdemont’s return
Rome, 6 Oct. (LaPresse) – The Spanish Constitutional Court has paved the way for the return to Spain of the former president of the Generalitat, the Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont, nine years after he fled following the illegal referendum of 1 October 2017 and Catalonia’s subsequent unilateral declaration of independence. Despite the amnesty law, passed by Pedro Sánchez’s government in 2024, a national arrest warrant still hangs over Puigdemont, as the Supreme Court has ruled that the amnesty does not apply to one of the offences with which the Catalan leader is charged, namely the misappropriation of public funds for personal gain. The charge relates to the use of public funds for the referendum on Catalan independence. According to El Mundo, the Constitutional Court ruled today on a case involving another pro-independence leader, Dolores Bassa, establishing that the Supreme Court must apply the amnesty in her case regarding the charges of embezzlement. This decision means that the same principle must also be applied in the case of the former president of the Generalitat.