Carles Puigdemont return eased by Spain court ruling

Spain's Constitutional Court on Tuesday backed extending an amnesty to cover embezzlement offences, potentially clearing a legal obstacle to exiled Catalan former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont's return.

Puigdemont headed Catalonia's regional government when it held a banned independence referendum and attempted to secede from Spain in 2017. He fled to Belgium to avoid arrest after the vote and remains subject to an arrest warrant.

Spain's 2024 amnesty law was aimed at easing tensions in Catalonia after the failed independence bid. Around 400 people involved in the independence push have benefited from the law, but Puigdemont had been excluded.

He is accused of using public funds to organise the 2017 referendum, which the Spanish government says amounts to embezzlement. Spain's Supreme Court had ruled that the amnesty did not apply to people investigated for embezzlement, including Puigdemont.

The Constitutional Court decision backed extending the amnesty to embezzlement offences. That would clear the way for Puigdemont's arrest warrant to be lifted.

The amnesty law was passed to secure the backing of Catalan separatist parties, whose support allowed Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to remain in power after Spain's 2023 election produced no clear majority. The government has said the law should be applied to all political leaders involved in the Catalan independence push as soon as possible.