At least 27 Catalan separatists have benefited from Spain’s amnesty law since the rule entered into force on June 10. All the amnesty rulings issued so far have come from the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC)
La Gaceta reports that most amnestied convictions involve violence against police during various protests between 2017 and 2020, but the first amnesties were for the former interior adviser of the regional government Miquel Buch, and former President Carles Puigdemont’s escort, Lluís Escolà. Both faced four-and-a-half year prison sentences for embezzlement for spending public money on personal security for Carles Puigdemont as he fled Spain.
Buch appointed Esolá to accompany Puigdemont in his escape to Belgium in the trunk of a car. Puigdemont is a former MEP and Catalan president who declared the territory’s independence from Spain illegally in 2017 before fleeing to Belgium where he has been a fugitive from Spanish justice since.
The other amnesties have all been for persons who attacked police—including several who caused physical injury to officers—during riots surrounding the 2017 illegal referendum and subsequent protests that lasted until 2020. Thanks to the amnesty, both their criminal records and the accompanying punishment, including fines and jail time, have all been rescinded.
