Catalan separatist leader Puigdemont cleared to return to Spain after court ruling

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont can return to Spain without being arrested after a Supreme Court judge on Monday confirmed the withdrawal of an arrest warrant for him, nearly nine years after he fled the country following a failed independence bid.

Judge Pablo Llarena upheld his Oct. 6 decision to lift the arrest warrants for Puigdemont and former Catalan Cabinet Ministers Antoni Comin and Lluis Puig, rejecting an appeal by the far-right Vox party.

The judge said a recent Constitutional Court ruling meant Spain's amnesty law could apply to their cases.

However, he stressed that the decision only concerned the arrest warrants and did not mean Puigdemont had been formally granted amnesty.

A final decision on whether to dismiss the criminal proceedings against him must be made by the Supreme Court's criminal chamber.

The ruling follows a Constitutional Court decision in favor of former Catalan Labor Minister Dolors Bassa, which rejected the Supreme Court's interpretation of whether embezzlement linked to the 2017 independence referendum was excluded from Spain's amnesty law.

Llarena acknowledged that the Constitutional Court's interpretation was binding, although he criticized its reasoning and defended the Supreme Court's previous position.

Puigdemont, who led Catalonia's regional government during its 2017 independence referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence, fled to Belgium that October to avoid prosecution.

He has remained abroad since then, although he briefly returned to Barcelona in August 2024 to address supporters before leaving again without being arrested.

Spain's parliament approved the amnesty law in 2024 following an agreement between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Party and Puigdemont's Junts party, whose parliamentary support helped Sanchez secure another term after the 2023 general election.

The Supreme Court had previously refused to apply the amnesty to Puigdemont's embezzlement charge, arguing that the alleged misuse of public funds involved a personal financial benefit.

The Constitutional Court subsequently rejected that interpretation, opening the way for the amnesty to be applied to Puigdemont's case.

Last week, Puigdemont asked the Supreme Court to apply the amnesty law without further delay and definitively close the proceedings against him.

He did not publicly comment on Monday’s ruling and Spanish media cites sources saying he intends to return only if he has been formally granted amnesty.

Monday's ruling also comes amid political uncertainty in Spain after Sanchez called an early general election for Nov. 29.

Alyssa Mcmurtry