The lower house of the Spanish Parliament has recently approved a controversial legislative proposal that grants amnesty to Catalan separatists involved in the 2017 independence bid. The proposed law intends to conclude legal proceedings and sentences against anyone who participated in the Catalan independence movement between November 1, 2011 and November 13, 2023. It is believed that this law may affect more than 400 individuals who were part of the movement.
Prior drafts of the proposal rejected on January 10 and 30 by the Parliament, were sent back for re-examination to the Justice Commission. Following this, the Justice Commission published a new opinion on the proposal. The debate that followed saw the approval of the commission’s opinion in the Thursday plenary session with a majority of 178 votes in favor and 172 against.
This bill was initiated by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in December 2023 as part of an agreement with the pro-independence Together for Catalonia party. As per the deal, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez consented to drop all charges against the convicted Catalan separatists of the 2017 referendum, in return for their votes for Sánchez in the 2023 elections.
The passage of this bill, however, has not been without controversy, sparking widespread protests across various cities in Spain. Despite the strong opposition mainly from the right-wing Spanish People’s Party that criticized the bill as a means for Pedro Sánchez to stay in power, Pedro Sánchez praised the approval of the bill and hailed it as a “brave and necessary step towards reunion”.
Carles Puigdemont, the former regional president who declared Catalonia independence in 2017 and now resides in Belgium has also commented on this issue on Twitter stating the aim of the amnesty law, is to overcome the previous error of punishing a political movement through legal and police force. If this proposed law is passed, Puigdemont can return to Spain without the risk of facing any charges.
The next step for this bill is to be sent to the Senate, which does have a conservative majority. In the event of its rejection at the Senate, Parliament’s lower house will then need to conduct a second vote. The approval of this bill marks a significant development in the ongoing complex relationship between Spain and Catalan separatists.
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