The Supreme Court opposes granting a second pardon to Junqueras.

MadridThe Supreme Court opposes granting a second pardon to former Vice President Oriol Junqueras, as well as to former councillors Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull and Dolors Bassa, to pardon their disqualification sentences following the conviction for the 1-O referendum. This is the pardon request filed by a private citizen to lift the disqualification sentence against Oriol Junqueras, Dolors Bassa, Jordi Turull, and Raül Romeva, which prevents them from running as candidates in elections or holding public office until 2031 in the case of Junqueras, and 2030 for the rest of the former councilors. It should be remembered that the Supreme Court denied them amnesty for the crime of embezzlement.

This second pardon came to the attention of the Ministry of Justice last year, and it requested a report from the Supreme Court, the sentencing court, so it could rule on the possibility of accepting the request. Now that it has taken a position, the ministry will have to decide what to do. In any case, in the first request for a pardon, which led to the release from prison of those convicted for the October 1, 2017, referendum, despite the Supreme Court's opposition, the Spanish government ruled in partial favor—lifting the prison sentence, but not the disqualification. However, the court's reports are not binding.

The judges (Andrés Martínez Arrieta, Juan Ramón Berdugo, Manuel Marchena, Antonio del Moral, Andrés Palomo, and Ana Ferrer) explain in their report that if, almost four years ago, only prison sentences were pardoned, it was because the law prevented granting a full pardon—that is, also. As a result, they argue that granting this second pardon now would violate the pardon law, both in Article 18, which establishes the irrevocable nature of the pardon granted, and in those provisions that condition the possibility of a full pardon on the existence of reasons of justice, equity, or public utility. Thus, the Supreme Court considers that this second pardon would open a "path for interference" by the Spanish government in final judicial rulings that would allow a partial pardon to be converted into a full pardon.

In response to the Supreme Court's decision, ERC (Revolutionary Left) has not expressed surprise, considering that it "is in line with what the criminal division of the Supreme Court has always done": "Issuing political rulings against individuals for their political positions." In a statement, ERC adds that the ruling of October 1st was already "unjust" and that the Supreme Court has also failed to apply the amnesty law: "It cannot be expected to persist in injustice and persecution."