Top Spanish court helps clear Catalan leader’s return

Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid arrest and remains the subject of an arrest warrant.(AFP) — Spain’s top court on Tuesday backed extending an amnesty to include embezzlement, potentially clearing a legal obstacle to exiled former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont’s return.The 2024 law was aimed at easing tensions in the wealthy northeastern region following its failed 2017 independence bid, Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.Around 400 people involved in the independence push have benefited from the amnesty, but Puigdemont, who headed Catalonia’s regional government when it held a banned independence referendum and attempted to secede from Spain, has been excluded.He is accused of using public funds to organize the 2017 referendum, which the government says amounts to embezzlement.Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that the amnesty law did not apply to people, including Puigdemont, who were investigated for embezzlement.The decision was appealed to the Constitutional Court, which on Tuesday backed extending the amnesty to cover embezzlement offenses.Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid arrest after the referendum and remains the subject of an arrest warrant.The ruling could clear the way for Puigdemont’s arrest warrant to be lifted.The amnesty law was passed to secure the backing of Catalan separatist parties, whose support allowed Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to remain in power after the 2023 election produced no clear majority.The government has said the law should be applied to all political leaders involved in the Catalan independence push “as soon as possible.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads