Former President of Catalonia and separatist leader Carles Puigdemont addresses the press in Alghero, Italy, October 4, 2021. GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE / Portal
While a reform of the penal code abolished the crime in the country at the end of November, the Spanish Supreme Court dropped the sedition charge against separatist Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia, on Thursday, November 12.
Puigdemont, who was exiled to Belgium to avoid prosecution in Spain, still faces charges of disobedience and embezzlement, which carry eight years in prison. Incitement to hatred was punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of fifteen years.
Previous attempts by Spain to extradite the former president of Catalonia during his stays in Germany, Belgium and Italy have failed. Spanish Supreme Court Justice Pablo Llarena said on Thursday he would submit a new extradition request to Belgian authorities to try Carles Puigdemont on less serious charges, pending the rulings of the European Court of Justice in his case.
Mitigation of the conflict between Madrid and Catalonia
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers In Spain, the Catalan separatists achieve the abolition of the crime of “incitement”
Spain amended its penal code late last year to repeal the landmark incitement law that sentenced some separatist politicians to up to 13 years in prison following the constitutional crisis caused by the 2017 referendum on Catalan independence and the unilateral proclamation of Catalonia became the Catalan Republic.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who later pardoned those convicted after the events, said the move was intended to further defuse the political conflict between Madrid and Catalonia. Opposition parties said the move was to ensure Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist-led coalition continued to win support from pro-independence parties in contentious parliamentary votes.
Carles Puigdemont, who has been in exile in Belgium since the end of 2017, has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
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