Spain: Pedro Sanchez will pardon nine imprisoned Catalan separatists

Published on : 06/21/2021 – 5:31 PM

The government’s green light should be given on Tuesday, June 22. Pedro Sanchez announced Monday: “Guided by the spirit of concord of the Constitution, I will propose to the Council of Ministers to grant pardon to the nine condemned”. These Catalan independence leaders were sentenced in October 2019 to terms ranging from 9 to 13 years in prison for sedition.

The Spanish Prime Minister wants to grant them a pardon in a desire for “reconciliation”, according to his own expression, between Madrid and the Catalan region. From the Liceu theater in Barcelona, ​​where he spoke, the socialist supported his decision despite divided public opinion.

In front of the theater, hundreds of separatist activists expressed their anger. They are asking for an amnesty for the imprisoned leaders. An option that the Spanish government is not considering: if a pardon will exempt them from serving the rest of their sentence and allow them to get out of prison, an amnesty would completely erase their offense.

In June 2017, the Catalan regional government, led at the time by Carles Puidgemont, organized a self-determination referendum, which was banned by the courts. Violence had broken out on the sidelines. In October 2017, the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared the region’s independence, triggering a serious political crisis, the removal of the regional government by the Spanish government and the placing of Catalonia under control.

The Spaniards not in favor of this grace

Prosecuted by justice, the independence leaders had left Spain or found themselves behind bars. Carles Puidgemont, him, is not concerned by the planned grace. The politician, exiled in Belgium, remains prosecuted by justice. “It is clear that this is not a political solution to the political conflict” in Catalonia, he said Friday, June 18, of what was then still a rumor of imminent pardon.

Pedro Sanchez’s decision to pardon the nine incarcerated people is not unanimous in the country. If the separatists call for an amnesty that will not happen, the pardon is not more popular with the rest of the population. According to an Ipsos poll, 53% of Spaniards are against it. Not surprisingly, opinion is different in Catalonia, where a large majority (68%) is in favor.

Responding to the call of the right, tens of thousands of people marched in the capital, on June 13, to express their opposition to this grace, which they perceive as a political maneuver by Pedro Sanchez to remain in the post that ‘he holds for three years. “With time, the grace will appear anecdotal if the economy goes well” thanks to the mega-European recovery plan, observes Pablo Ferrandiz, sociologist at the University Carlos III in Madrid.

With AFP