Parliament debates amnesty for Catalan independence activists

2023-12-12 14:36:23

This Tuesday, December 12th, the Spanish Parliament debates the amnesty law for Catalan independence activists. The measure was announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who, in order to have support from the executive leadership, renounced legal action.

Published on: 12/12/2023 – 13:36

2 min

A month after being announced, the Catalan independence amnesty law begins to be debated todayo Spanish Parliament. The absolute majority of 178 of the 350 deputies from seven parties guarantees, from the outset, the approval of the diploma. In addition to the two Catalan parties, the PSOE and Somar – which are part of the Government coalition – vote in favor – the Basque Nationalist Party and EH Bildu and the Galician Nationalist Bloc.

The measure was announced by the Spanish Prime Minister following the legislative elections on 23 July. The ERC and JxCat asked Pedro Sanchez for amnesty for people facing legal proceedings or already tried for involvement in the Catalan self-determination movement between 2012 and 2023, which culminated in a unilateral declaration of independence in 2017.

Six years after the attempted secession, the Spanish Prime Minister justifies the measure by the need to turn the page in Catalonia, after one of the worst crises experienced by contemporary Spain and which still affects the country’s political life. In the last legislature, Sánchez already thad granted pardons to imprisoned Catalan independence activists, in a decision that, according to polls at the time, the majority of Spaniards contested

The amnesty for Catalan independence activists has been contested by right-wing parties and various sectors, including judges and prosecutors, arguing that the decision calls into question the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers.

In recent weeks, the Popular Party, which won the legislative elections on July 23, ahead of the Socialists, but unable to form a government due to lack of support, mobilized massively in the streets.

The leader of the right-wing party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said that “amnesty is a form of political corruption, because it allowed (Pedro Sánchez) to govern in exchange for judicial impunity” of the Catalan separatists.

The Popular Party, which has an absolute majority in the Senate, promised to do everything in its power to delay the approval of the text. The conservative party also announced that it would appeal the future law to the Constitutional Court. The European Commission also asked Spain for information on the future law.