MADRID– The Spanish Parliament is expected to give final approval on Thursday to a controversial amnesty law for hundreds of Catalan separatists involved in the illegal and failed 2017 secession attempt.
The legislation is backed by Spain’s left-wing coalition government, two Catalan separatist parties and other smaller parties. It is expected to be approved despite the fact that the conservative Popular Party and the far-right Vox voted against it.
The amnesty could benefit former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont, who is a fugitive from Spanish law in Belgium after fleeing his country following the failed October 2017 separatist attempt that he led. It should also help hundreds more, including former Barcelona government officials, ordinary citizens who participated in the secession attempt or protests, and some police officers involved in the suppression of an illegal independence referendum held by the Puigdemont government.
The approval of the amnesty law, however, does not immediately clear up the separatists’ legal imbroglio.
The law is likely to face legal challenges and will be reviewed by higher courts. It must also be applied by courts on a case-by-case basis. There are experts who question its constitutionality since they say that it would create inequality among Spanish citizens by favoring some over others.
Since taking power in 2018, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has focused on reducing tensions in northeastern Catalonia and maintains that the amnesty is key to completing that process.
But the amnesty was also a political necessity for Sánchez, who accepted the act of pardon when he needed the support of separatist lawmakers in Madrid to form a new national government in November. It was initially approved by the lower house of Parliament in March. The Senate, where right-wing parties have a majority, rejected it earlier this month, but the Lower House may push it forward anyway.
While the amnesty is popular in Catalonia, even among many union members, the Popular Party and Vox have led protests against it in Madrid and other cities across the country. There has also been criticism of the amnesty within Sánchez’s socialist party.
It comes during the run-up to European Parliament elections on June 6-9 and as Sánchez’s Socialists are trying to form a government in Catalonia after defeating the separatists in regional elections earlier this month.
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Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
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