An amnesty law for Catalan separatists involved in the 2017 secession attempt has been enacted in Spain and now awaits judicial appraisal.
The contentious law, permitting the return of separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to Spain after over six years in Belgian exile, was published on Tuesday with immediate effect.
Adopted on 30 May by the legislature, it must now be implemented within two months by judges, who will have to decide whether it can be applied to each individual case.
However, many magistrates, opposed to the law, may refer it to the Spanish constitutional court or the European court.
“A new battle begins,” tweeted Jordi Turull, general secretary of Puigdemont’s party, Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia). He acknowledged that the law’s enforcement by some judges “will not be straightforward, but sooner or later, we will succeed.”
The other major separatist party, ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), confirmed that around 30 members have requested to benefit from this legislation. They include Oriol Junqueras, sentenced to 13 years in prison for his role in the secession bid before being pardoned in 2021 by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government.
The amnesty law has polarised and intensified Spanish politics since last July’s elections. Previously opposed to the bill, Mr. Sánchez granted the amnesty in return for the indispensable support of Catalan separatist parties for his four-year reappointment by parliament in November 2023.
