In a significant legal development, the Spanish Supreme Court has denied amnesty to former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont.
The court refused to endorse amnesty provisions that would have applied to his case of embezzlement under a special law passed by the Spanish parliament.
Both the Spanish prosecutor’s office and Puigdemont himself had sought the cancellation of his arrest warrant following the passage of a controversial amnesty law. The law, which was part of an effort by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, led by Pedro Sánchez, aimed to secure support from the Catalan separatist party Junts. However, the Supreme Court confirmed on Thursday that the charges of embezzlement do not qualify for the amnesty protections.
The case stems from allegations that Puigdemont, along with two other former Catalan officials, misused public funds in 2017 to support the Catalan independence campaign. The court argued that the individuals “gained financial benefits by personally promoting an illegal political project and shifted the expenses to the autonomous administration,” without serving any “public interest.”
Puigdemont, who fled Spain in 2017, has been living abroad since then and benefits from immunity as a Member of the European Parliament.
