Spanish Supreme Court grants amnesty to Catalan leaders and others linked to the ‘procés’

The Spanish Supreme Court's Criminal Chamber has applied the 2024 amnesty law to eight people connected to the Catalan independence process. Four former members of the Catalan parliament’s Board – former president Roger Torrent, former secretaries Eusebi Campdepadrós, Josep Costa and Adriana Delgado – were cleared of the alleged crime of disobedience. The court also pardoned former Sabadell mayor Maties Serracant and three protestors convicted of public‑order offences during the 2019 demonstrations after the sentencing of the ‘procés’ leaders.

The decision follows the EU Court of Justice’s affirmation that the amnesty law complies with EU law, and comes after the Constitutional Court rejected the last of 16 challenges, fully sealing the law’s constitutional validity. In parallel, the Catalan government has asked the Court of Auditors to apply the amnesty to the remaining cases, while the Court of Auditors has reopened its investigation into alleged misuse of public funds linked to the referendum. Earlier this week the Supreme Court also ordered the destruction of the referendum’s urns and ballots, formally ending the material chapter of the 2017 vote.

These moves mark the final legal closure of the decade‑long ‘procés’ saga, removing criminal liability from the principal political figures and ending the handling of the referendum’s physical evidence.