Trial, Pardons and Amnesty
Independence leaders are sentenced to up to 13 years for sedition; Pedro Sánchez's government pardons them, then passes an amnesty in exchange for Catalan votes, and tension slowly falls.
- Sentencia 459/2019 (causa especial 20907/2017) — Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Penal, Poder Judicial (2019)
- Ley Orgánica 1/2024, de 10 de junio, de amnistía para la normalización institucional, política y social en Cataluña — Jefatura del Estado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (2024)
- Catalan separatist Puigdemont to return to Spain after warrant lifted — Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera (2026)
- Baròmetre d'Opinió Política, July 2026 — Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió, Generalitat de Catalunya (2026)
On 14 October 2019 the Supreme Court convicted nine leaders of sedition, and some of misuse of public funds, but not of the more serious charge of rebellion; Oriol Junqueras received 13 years. Days of protest followed, including the occupation of Barcelona airport and nights of rioting. In June 2021 Pedro Sánchez’s government pardoned the nine, and at the end of 2022 the crime of sedition was abolished.
- Sentencia 459/2019 (causa especial 20907/2017) — Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Penal, Poder Judicial (2019)
- The Rise of Catalan Independence: Spain's Territorial Crisis — Andrew Dowling, Routledge (2018)
After the inconclusive July 2023 election, Sánchez needed the votes of Puigdemont’s Junts to stay in office, and the price was an amnesty law for those prosecuted over the procés, passed in May 2024 and published in June. The Constitutional Court upheld the law in 2025, and in 2026 ruled that it also covered Puigdemont’s embezzlement charge; on 6 October 2026 the Supreme Court lifted the arrest warrant that had kept him in exile since 2017.
- Ley Orgánica 1/2024, de 10 de junio, de amnistía para la normalización institucional, política y social en Cataluña — Jefatura del Estado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (2024)
- Catalan separatist Puigdemont to return to Spain after warrant lifted — Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera (2026)
In the May 2024 Catalan election the Socialists’ Salvador Illa won and became president in August, ending more than a decade of independentist governments. In its July 2026 barometer the Generalitat’s polling centre found 45% in favour of independence and 51% against, the highest support since 2020.
- Baròmetre d'Opinió Política, July 2026 — Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió, Generalitat de Catalunya (2026)
The leaders were political prisoners, jailed for organising a vote and peaceful protest; pardons and amnesty were the least Spain could do, and the right to self-determination remains.
- The Rise of Catalan Independence: Spain's Territorial Crisis — Andrew Dowling, Routledge (2018)
Pardons and amnesty brought Catalonia back from the brink: protests faded, the independentists lost their majority, and politics returned to the institutions.
- Ley Orgánica 1/2024, de 10 de junio, de amnistía para la normalización institucional, política y social en Cataluña — Jefatura del Estado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (2024)
- Catalan separatist Puigdemont to return to Spain after warrant lifted — Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera (2026)
Those who broke the law were let off because Sánchez needed their votes to stay in power, undermining equality before the law and the courts; the separatists have never renounced trying again.
- Sentencia 459/2019 (causa especial 20907/2017) — Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Penal, Poder Judicial (2019)
- Catalan separatist Puigdemont to return to Spain after warrant lifted — Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera (2026)
Why it matters today
The movement emerged from prison and exile divided and tired. Since 2024 Catalonia has a Socialist president, Salvador Illa, focused on "normality", while support for independence, which fell after 2017, showed signs of recovering in 2026. The lifting of Puigdemont's arrest warrant ended the long exile that had symbolised the conflict, without settling it.
The amnesty is among the most divisive measures of Spanish democracy: for supporters, a brave step towards reconciliation; for opponents, a deal that traded justice for seven votes in Congress. Dependence on Junts's votes also left Sánchez's governments fragile, and its withdrawal of support weakened his majority.