Spain’s top court clears Carles Puigdemont to return from exile
Spain’s Supreme Court has upheld the lifting of arrest warrants for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, clearing the way for him to return after nearly a decade in self-imposed exile. The ruling ends a protracted legal dispute over his role in the failed 2017 independence bid and comes as independence has become a relatively marginal issue in Spanish politics.
Puigdemont fled to Belgium after Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia; a brief appearance in Barcelona in 2024 triggered a police manhunt. Spain’s 2024 amnesty for people involved in the secession drive initially excluded him and several former ministers over alleged financial crimes, but the Constitutional Court overturned that interpretation. The Supreme Court also rejected Vox’s appeal against lifting warrants for Puigdemont, Lluís Puig and Toni Comín; no date has been given for Puigdemont’s return.
- Puigdemont can return to Spain without the national arrest warrant.
- The ruling follows a lengthy dispute over the 2017 referendum.
- His return date remains unknown.
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Originally published by BBC World as “Catalonia’s former rebel president can return to Spain, court rules”.