Top Spanish court helps clear Catalan leader’s return

Spain's Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that the 2024 Catalan amnesty law should extend to embezzlement charges, potentially clearing the way for exiled former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to return without facing arrest. The Supreme Court had previously excluded him, ruling the amnesty didn't cover embezzlement, since Puigdemont is accused of using public funds to organize the banned 2017 independence referendum.

Around 400 people involved in the independence push have already benefited from the amnesty; Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium and remains under an arrest warrant, was the notable holdout. The law exists because Catalan separatist parties' support let Socialist PM Pedro Sánchez stay in power after the 2023 election produced no majority, and the government now says it wants the amnesty applied to all involved leaders 'as soon as possible.'

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