Spanish Supreme Court refuses to grant Puigdemont amnesty despite EU court ruling

Spain's Supreme Court has rejected a request to extend the country's controversial amnesty law to former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and former regional minister Toni Comín over allegations of misappropriating public funds during the independence movement. Despite a recent European Court of Justice ruling supporting the legislation, Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena maintains the national arrest warrants against both men, meaning Puigdemont would still face arrest if he returned to Spain.

The decision comes two months after the CJEU ruled that Spain's amnesty law did not breach EU law. Llarena acknowledged part of the European court's reasoning, but concluded that a separate legal obstacle remains concerning personal financial benefit. The Constitutional Court may now play a decisive role in determining how the amnesty law applies to the leaders of the independence movement.