The pardon act sets a limit to the political turmoil triggered by the separatist impulse, but it could face more legal hurdles.
The Spanish parliament gave the green light to a bill granting amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists involved in a failed attempt at separation seven years ago.
The controversial bill, approved by 177 to 172 votes on Thursday, will see courts annul the legal records of hundreds of officials and activists involved in crimes related to Catalonia’s separatist campaign from 2011, paving the way for return of the movement’s exiled leader, Carles Puigdemont.
The pardon act draws a line under Spain’s worst political crisis in decades, which saw pro-independence Catalan leaders, who won the 2015 regional elections in Catalonia, hold a full referendum in 2017, which was declared illegal by the Spanish constitutional court .
The bill, opposed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox, had a difficult path in parliament.
Initially approved by the Chamber of Deputies in March, it was vetoed in the Upper Chamber, where right-wing parties hold the majority, at the beginning of this month. But the lower house pushed it anyway.
Although it has already been approved, it is likely to face legal challenges.
Earlier this week, a PP spokesperson said that the party would do everything to “overturn” the law, whether through appeals to the Constitutional Court or “social pressure” on the streets.
The law must also be applied by courts on a case-by-case basis, with judges deciding whether amnesty applies.
They have two months to raise issues with the Constitutional Court or the European justice system that could delay its implementation for some time.
‘Forgiveness’
“Forgiveness is stronger than resentment,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after the bill was approved.
Sánchez presented the amnesty proposal in exchange for support in parliament from Catalan separatist parties, allowing him to remain prime minister after an inconclusive election last year.
The new law paves the way for the return of independence leader Puigdemont, leader of Together for Catalonia (JxCat), one of the parties that supported Sánchez’s coalition government.
Puigdemont led the secession campaign in 2017 before fleeing the country and going into exile in Belgium, where he has resided ever since while avoiding extradition. Other pro-independence leaders are also in exile.
Spaniards are divided over the amnesty, with the project causing major protests in recent months.
In a survey carried out by the newspaper El Mundo in March, 62 percent of those questioned in Spain rejected the amnesty, but only in the Catalonia region did the majority of voters – 48 percent – support it.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
