With the possibility of appealing within three days of notification to the parties, the Spanish Supreme Court of Justice deemed the amnesty to the Catalan separatist leader “inapplicable.”
Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant amnesty to Carles Puigdemont and upheld the arrest warrant against the Catalan independence leader.
“The judge (Pablo Llaena) of the Supreme Court issued an order today in which declares amnesty inapplicable to the crime of embezzlement in the process against the former president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont,” the court announced in a statement.
With the possibility of appeal within three days of notification to the parties, the decision also included two former ministers.
Other pro-independence leaders, including former vice president Oriol Junqueras, were also denied amnesty.
The Criminal Division of the Court also agreed to raise a question of unconstitutionality before the Constitutional Court for the crime of disobedience for which Junqueras and former vice presidents Raúl Romeva, Jordi Turull and Dolors Bassa were convicted.
Puigdemont has been in exile since Catalonia’s failed secession attempt in 2017..
On May 30, the Spanish Parliament approved an amnesty law for Catalan separatists, following an agreement for the socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to guarantee the formation of a government thanks to the support of the two Catalan separatist parties.
The parties demanded the measure in exchange for their support and the law was enacted on June 11.
The lawmakers’ aim was to have courts promptly begin repealing arrest warrants against pro-independence activists who had fled abroad and to have such repeals remain valid pending review of appeals against the law, a process that could take months or even years.
Source: Observadora
