Spain’s Supreme Court on Thursday, January 12, dropped the sedition charges previously brought against the former separatist President of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Carles Puigdemont will no longer face the lengthy prison sentences applicable to this crime, but he could still face charges of “disobedience” and “embezzlement.”
If tried, Carles Puigdemont now faces up to a maximum of 8 years in prison on these charges of “disobedience” and “embezzlement”. Just like his former health and culture advisers, Toni Comin and Lluis Puig. Two charges related to the illegal holding of the October 1, 2017 independence referendum and the unilateral proclamation of a Catalan republic.
immunity
While the crime of sedition and its maximum penalty of 15 years in prison have just disappeared from Spain’s penal code thanks to a long-awaited revision (the country was the only one in the European Union to have it), the Supreme Court has logically dropped these charges against raised the man who just moved to Belgium to avoid a court case in Spain. Carles Puigdemont, who became an MEP in 2019, has always justified his voluntary exile by fear of an unfair trial in Spain. In an interview with L’Indépendant on March 17, 2021, the man whom many still call “President” spoke of a “very politicized judiciary” in which “Catalan independence has no faith”.
Pedro Sanchez made my extradition a campaign promise
Today, after the heaviest prison sentence has ended, the Spanish courts are preparing to submit a new extradition request to the Belgian authorities. Under these new conditions, can they accommodate the Spanish request? This is likely what Judge Llarena is hoping for as he announces his intention to repeat his motion to try Puigdemont in Spain. However, MEP Puigdemont’s parliamentary immunity would have to be lifted. Spain has repeatedly bitten its teeth on this basic requirement.
political care
On January 10th, Carles Puigdemont underlined the political dimension of this maintenance of the Spanish Penal Code on his Twitter account. “Pedro Sanchez made my extradition a campaign promise in defiance of the basic rules of the rule of law,” he wrote.
The right castigates “tailor-made for separatists”
Indeed, many in Catalonia see this legislative change as an opportunity for the leader to make pledges to his separatist ally ERC (left). Sanchez does not hide his desire to “further reduce the political conflict between Madrid and Barcelona,” notes Portal agency; he who has already pardoned this to Catalan separatists. Pragmatically outstretched hands, violently reproached to him by the Spanish right-wing of the Popular Party PP. The party’s general secretary, Cuca Gamarra, castigates “tailor-made for the separatists” and therefore accuses Sanchez of “abolishing the crime of sedition because the rebels demanded it”.
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Catalonia: Despite the reform of the penal code, Carles Puigdemont continues to be arrested on his return to Spain, other exiles may return