Catalan separatist Puigdemont cleared to return to Spain after court lifts arrest warrant
A Spanish judge on Tuesday lifted an arrest warrant for exiled former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, paving the way for his return to Spain ahead of a general election in November.
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Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium after Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid, hailed the decision as a "very special" moment, saying it marked the end of more than nine years of what he called "political repression".
Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena made the move after Spain's Constitutional Court backed a move to extend a 2024 amnesty law to include the crime of embezzlement.
The law was aimed at easing tensions in the wealthy northeastern region after the failed independence bid triggered 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 – had been excluded.
He was accused of using public funds to organise the referendum, which the courts had said amounted to embezzlement.
Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid detention after the referendum and had remained the subject of an arrest warrant.
Spain's Supreme Court initially ruled that the amnesty law did not apply to those investigated for embezzlement, including Puigdemont.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the lifting of the warrant, saying it would allow Catalonia to "look to the future".
"We should celebrate that this also helps Catalan society, as it has been demanding throughout this time," he added at a Madrid news conference.
'Nothing resolved'
But Puigdemont warned his campaign for an independent Catalonia was far from over despite his years abroad.
"In terms of relations between Catalonia and Spain, nothing has been resolved today," he said during an address from Belgium, without saying when he plans to return to Spain.
He briefly returned to Barcelona in August 2024 after almost seven years in exile, appearing before thousands of supporters and vowing to continue the fight for Catalan independence.
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He then disappeared before the regional parliament's vote to install Socialist Salvador Illa as Catalonia's leader, evading a police operation to arrest him.
Both his parents died in Spain while he was in exile, and he was unable to attend their funerals.
The amnesty law was passed to secure the backing of Catalan separatist parties, whose support allowed Sanchez to remain in power after a 2023 election produced no clear majority.
Spain's right fiercely opposed the amnesty, with the mainstream conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox arguing it undermined the rule of law.
The two parties frequently accused Sanchez of trading political support for the votes of Catalan separatists and staged large protests against the amnesty law.
'Must be punished'
While PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said he "respected" the Supreme Court's decision, he again criticised the amnesty law, calling it a "deception".
"Selling favours in exchange for power must be punished at the ballot box. Spain finally deserves a government that puts truth, the law and equality for all Spaniards first," he wrote on X.
Puigdemont's Junts party later withdrew support for the government, accusing Sanchez of failing to fulfil commitments, including amnesty for its leader.
Junts on Friday voted against housing relief measures proposed by Sanchez's minority government amid nationwide protests. The party's seven seats would have been key for passing the decrees.
The defeat of the measures led Sanchez on Monday to call a snap vote for November 29. The next general election was due by August 2027.
Since Puigdemont fled, Junts has seen its support decline as the Catalan independence movement has lost momentum and a new far-right separatist party, Alianca Catalana, has emerged as a rival.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)