Spanish court maintains arrest warrant for Puigdemont and denies amnesty

Spain’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday (1) to uphold arrest warrants for the former leader of Catalonia and others accused of embezzlement and ruled that a recent amnesty law does not apply to them.

The decision, which could be challenged, could destroy the fragile socialist coalition governing Spain and have personal implications for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who lives in exile in France.

An amnesty law passed on May 30 was intended to pardon those involved in trying to declare Catalonia’s independence from Madrid in exchange for critical support from separatist parties for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s new mandate following a general election.

Judge Pablo Llarena said in the ruling that he will seek the arrest of Puigdemont and his former deputies Antonio Comin and Lluis Puig, who were in charge of Catalonia’s health and culture departments respectively.

A withdrawal of support from Puigdemont’s Junts party for projects such as the 2025 budget could leave Sanchez unable to govern and trigger new elections.

Politicians and activists involved in the independence campaign faced charges including public disorder, disobedience and embezzlement of funds.

But two exceptions were eliminated for embezzlement of funds, so the amnesty does not apply to those who committed the crime with the intention of enriching themselves personally or if it affected the financial interests of the European Union.

Llarena argued that the conduct of Puigdemont, Comin and Puig “fully fits within the two exceptions contemplated in the law”.

Llarena said he made personal gain by charging the expenses of holding an independence referendum deemed illegal by the Spanish judiciary to the regional treasury, a move he described as not being in the public interest.

All three say the referendum was not illegal and therefore the allegations linked to it are baseless.

The referendum also affected the European Union’s financial interests, Llarena said, as Catalonia’s secession would have impacted Spain’s tax collection and gross national income.

The decision is a blow to Puigdemont, who had appeared optimistic that the amnesty would fully clear up all the charges he faced in Spain, allowing him to return without fear of arrest.

Junts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: CNN Brasil

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