Spain grants amnesty to 400 Catalan secessionists.
A large number of activists facing legal charges since the Catalonia region's failed attempt at secession from Spain in 2017 can look forward to a new lease of life. This is thanks to a recently passed amnesty law in the Spanish parliament. The parliament passed the contentious amnesty bill by a margin of 177 to 172 votes. The law is expected to positively affect around 400 to 500 Catalan activists who have been charged following the unsuccessful separation bid.
The most notable figure among these individuals is Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan regional president and the face of the secession attempt. He has been living in exile since 2017. With the recent development, he will finally be able to return to Spain. This amnesty law was a concession from the socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to the Catalan independence movement, with MPs from two Catalan parties on his side.
The law was crafted to win over Sánchez's government's minority partners. He has relied on their support to achieve a stable parliamentary majority following the previous year's elections. The proposed amnesty sparked massive protests by the conservative opponents. The draft bill had been approved by the House of Representatives in March already.
However, the Senate rejected the bill in mid-May, forcing it back to the House of Representatives. Here, it was voted through with a narrow majority, after heated discussions lasting nearly two hours. In addition to the Socialists and the Catalan representatives, the Basque nationalists and members of the left-wing coalition government belted out their support for the bill.
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This amnesty law, passed in Spain's parliament, will allow Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan regional president and leading figure in the secession attempt, to return to Spain from his exile, as it serves to forgive the charges against over 400 Catalan activists involved in the region's bid for independence in 2017. The passage of this controversial bill, with support from Catalan parties and the socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, was met with opposition from conservative groups, who protested against its approval.
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