Exiled former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont can return to Spain after the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the amnesty law for Catalan separatists also applies to the embezzlement charges against him. Shortly afterward, a Supreme Court judge annulled the arrest warrant for Puigdemont, clearing the way for him to return without facing the risk of detention.
Puigdemont, then president of Catalonia, went into exile in Belgium in 2017 after organizing an independence referendum for the autonomous region aimed at breaking away from Spain. Madrid declared the vote illegal. Catalonia then unilaterally declared independence from Spain, with 90 percent of voters in favor.
Since then he has evaded repeated Spanish attempts to extradite him to stand trial over the vote, while many of his close associates and supporters were jailed.
Members of Puigdemont's Junts party welcomed the prospect of his return. Party general secretary Jordi Turull told reporters: "This is a great victory for President Puigdemont and two other exiled leaders. They held firm, they resisted, they won in Europe, and today they have won against the Spanish state."
Junts' role in the snap election
Puigdemont appears set to return to Spain just as the country prepares for a snap election in November, though a Junts official said he is unlikely to take part. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was only able to stay in power in 2023 when Puigdemont's Junts and another Catalan party backed a new government in exchange for amnesty measures.
A year ago, Junts withdrew its support for the central minority government, and the party played a decisive role in causing Spain's left-wing government to lose two key parliamentary votes this week, as the government sought to pass emergency housing measures amid street protests.
Sanchez responded by calling a snap election for November, hoping that discontent over housing would mobilize his voters. The prime minister told reporters on Tuesday that he did not regret initiating the amnesty and welcomed the court's ruling. "I believe the important message is coexistence among Catalans," he said.
Although the separatist movement has lost momentum and Junts is trailing in the polls, Puigdemont's return could ignite fresh political drama. Spain's conservative People's Party leads in pre-election polls and may need to seek the support of Junts and other center-right parties to govern.
