Spain passes bill granting amnesty to Catalan secessionists

Act of pardon draws a line under political turmoil set off by secessionist drive, but could face further legal hurdles.

Spain’s parliament has green-lighted a bill granting amnesty to hundreds of Catalan secessionists involved in a botched breakaway bid seven years ago.

The controversial bill, passed 177-172 on Thursday, will see courts annul the legal records of hundreds of officials and activists involved in crimes related to Catalonia‘s secessionists push from 2011, paving the way for a return of the movement’s exiled leader, Carles Puigdemont.

The act of pardon draws a line under Spain’s worst political crisis in decades, which saw Catalan pro-independence leaders, who had won the 2015 regional election in Catalonia, hold a full referendum in 2017 that was declared illegal by Spain’s constitutional court.

The bill, opposed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox, has had a rocky ride through parliament.

Initially approved by the lower house in March, it was vetoed in the upper house, where right-wing parties hold a majority, earlier this month. But the lower house pushed it through regardless.