Spain’s Parliament approved a landmark law on Thursday that grants amnesty to Catalan separatists involved in the illegal October 2017 independence referendum, a reprieve that could apply to hundreds of people, including Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan leader who has been living in self-imposed exile for seven years.
The measure had met with resistance from opposition parties in recent months, and led to widespread anger and huge demonstrations in cities around Spain, with opponents denouncing it as a ploy by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to remain in power. Mr. Sánchez brokered the amnesty deal with the Catalan separatist party Together for Catalonia after his own party fell short of a majority in last July’s general elections.
Cries of “traitor” could be heard from several lawmakers in Parliament when Mr. Sánchez cast his vote on Thursday.
Spain’s judges now have two months to apply the new law, although its opponents vowed to continue trying to block it. Some argue that the measure violates the Constitution’s principle of equality because it is unfair to other people facing legal proceedings.
The regional president of Madrid, Isabel Ayuso, said in a radio interview on Thursday that her government would take steps to hinder implementation of the new law and present an appeal on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.
Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Carlos III University in Madrid, said that judges could also bring legal challenges if they considered granting general legal amnesty to be discriminatory.
“Each judge has different criteria,” Mr. Simón said, adding that they could also appeal for intervention from the European Court of Justice “if they consider that giving a general legal pardon is discriminatory,” in which case “the law could be paralyzed.”
The amnesty law applies to people involved in the Catalan independence movement, which came to a head in October 2017, when the region’s separatist government, led by Mr. Puigdemont, ignored Spanish court orders and moved ahead with a referendum.
Numerous voters were injured by violent police intervention, and a declaration of independence followed the balloting — as did a crackdown by the Spanish government, which fired the Catalan government and imposed direct control. Nine political leaders were jailed for crimes including sedition, while Mr. Puigdemont fled across the border to France, and then to Belgium, narrowly avoiding arrest.
Although Mr. Sánchez’s government has already granted pardons to the political leaders and activists who were jailed, the amnesty goes a step further. It will dismiss cases against people who are facing prosecution on a wide range of charges, including misuse of public funds to finance the 2017 referendum; civil disobedience — for example, by teachers who opened schools to be used as polling stations; and resisting authority by participating in riots that prevented Spanish law enforcement from gathering evidence.
The only exceptions to the new amnesty legislation are cases relating to terrorism.
The measure was approved by the governing Socialist Party and its coalition partners after a monthslong parliamentary process. It had earlier been vetoed by Spain’s upper house, which has limited powers and is controlled by the opposition People’s Party.
Mr. Sánchez and his allies have defended the amnesty as the best way forward for peaceful coexistence in Catalonia. Félix Bolaños, the minister of the presidency, called the law “a definitive step toward closing a difficult period and opening a period of prosperity.”
Míriam Nogueras, the spokeswoman for Mr. Puigdemont’s party, said during the morning’s parliamentary debate that passing the bill was “not pardon or clemency” but a “victory” for democracy.
But Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the People’s Party, dismissed the measure as an “exchange of power” for “privileges and impunity.” He said during the debate, “Don’t dare call it coexistence.” Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, said the law “legitimizes political violence in Spain.”
Despite the political and social backlash, Mr. Sánchez’s gamble seems to be paying off. In regional elections on May 12, the branch of his Socialist Party in Catalonia made history by winning enough votes to be able to form the region’s first government in over a decade that is led by a party opposed to Catalan independence.
That did not seem to deter Gabriel Rufían, a lawmaker with the Republican Left of Catalonia, who told Parliament on Wednesday that separatists in the region would use the momentum to press again for independence. “Next stop, referendum,” he said.
Ms. Nogueras, the spokeswoman for Mr. Puigdemont’s party, called the passage of the law “a historic day.” But the legal path for Mr. Puigdemont, who has also served as a member of the European Parliament since 2019, remains uncertain.
Mr. Simón, the political analyst, speculated that if judges were to link Mr. Puigdemont to the 2019 riots organized by Tsunami Democràtic, a Catalan protest group, at Barcelona’s airport, he and others could potentially be charged with terrorism and therefore be excluded from the amnesty law.
“Let’s see what happens,” Mr. Simón said.
