Catalan separatist Puigdemont to return to Spain after warrant lifted

Self-exiled Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont could be set to return to Spain after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that an amnesty law for Catalan separatists applies to embezzlement charges against Puigdemont.

A Supreme Court judge then lifted a warrant for Puigdemont’s arrest on Tuesday, clearing the way for his return without fear of arrest.

Puigdemont, then president of Catalonia, fled to Belgium in 2017 after holding an independence referendum for his self-governing region to break away from Spain. Madrid said the vote was illegal.

Catalonia unilaterally declared independence from Spain that year after the referendum, with 90 percent of voters backing independence.

He has since avoided several extradition attempts by Spain to face trial over the vote, while many of his confidants and supporters spent time in prison.

Members of Puigdemont’s political party Junts welcomed his potential return.

“It’s a great victory for President Puigdemont and the two other exiled ‌[leaders in Belgium]”, Jordi Turull, secretary-general of Junts, told reporters.

“They held firm, they resisted, they prevailed in Europe, and today they have prevailed against the Spanish state.”

Junts’ role in Spain’s snap election

Puigdemont appears set to return to Spain just as the country is preparing for a snap election in November, although an official from his Junts party said he is unlikely to take part.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was only able to remain in power in 2023 when Puigdemont’s Junts party, along with another Catalan party, backed his new government in exchange for the amnesties.

A year ago, Junts withdrew its support for the minority central government, and the party was decisive in Spain’s progressive government losing two key votes in parliament this week when it tried to push through emergency housing measures amid street protests.

Sanchez responded by calling a November snap election, hoping anger over housing will mobilise his voters.

The prime minister told ⁠reporters on Tuesday he did not regret launching the amnesty and welcomed the court ruling.

“I believe the important message is that of coexistence among Catalans,” he said.

Although separatism has lost ground and Junts is trailing in opinion polls, Puigdemont’s return could prompt renewed political drama.

Spain’s conservative People’s Party is leading in opinion polls ahead ‌of the election and may need to seek the support of Junts and other centre-right parties to govern.