The move clears a path for the Junts leader to return to Spain, but the amnesty has not yet been applied directly to his case.
Spain’s Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted an arrest warrant for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont. The move came shortly after the Constitutional Court ruled that the amnesty law must apply to Catalan separatists in embezzlement cases. Puigdemont, who has lived in Belgium since fleeing Spain in 2017, can now return without fear of arrest, Reuters reported.
The Constitutional Court ruled on an appeal by former Catalan minister Dolors Bassa over the Supreme Court’s refusal to apply the amnesty to an embezzlement conviction. Puigdemont was accused of using public funds to stage Catalonia’s 2017 independence referendum. He denied the charge. El País noted that lifting the warrant does not itself mean the amnesty has already been applied to his case.
The amnesty law was a defining agreement of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s current term. His Socialists and two Catalan separatist parties, including Puigdemont’s Junts, agreed to it in 2023 in exchange for support for his government. Junts later withdrew its backing, saying promises had not been fulfilled.
Sánchez called a snap parliamentary election for Nov. 29 after struggling to pass legislation. Junts recently opposed government housing decrees, while the conservative People’s Party is leading in polls and may need Catalan party support to form a government.
Catalonia unilaterally declared independence in 2017 after a referendum that Spain’s government and courts deemed illegal. Puigdemont left the country, while several former ministers were jailed. His return could again unsettle Catalan and national politics ahead of the vote.