Four out of every ten independence supporters have not yet been granted amnesty

BarcelonaSteps forward for the amnesty law, even though two years later it has still not benefited four out of every ten prosecuted independence supporters. If in the month of June the rule had stalled at half, in recent weeks –after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)– things are accelerating, according to data collected by Alerta Solidària. Specifically, 62% of independence supporters have already been amnestied, although, curiously, the list still does not include either the thirty people prosecuted at the Court of Auditors or the twelve members of the CDR accused of terrorism, the two cases in which the CJEU explicitly validated the measure of grace. Next week it is expected that the Constitutional Court (TC) will also take a decisive step so that Carles Puigdemont and the ministers of his Government pursued for embezzlement are amnestied.

The most recent case is that of the former general secretary of ERC, Marta Rovira, whom the Barcelona Court has amnestied this Tuesday from the case opened by the Supreme Court, which led her into exile in Switzerland—from where she returned in July 2024 once the Tsunami Democràtic terrorism case was archived. This Thursday will mark nine years since the holding of the 2017 referendum and two years and four months since the final approval of the amnesty law in Congress.

If we stick to the data, 185 sovereignist protesters and activists out of the 267 prosecuted have already been amnestied, which accounts for 69.28% of the total. The courts have rejected the amnesty in the case of 69 activists, and thirteen have been referred to other courts. At this moment, in the case of politicians and public officials, the percentage remains substantially lower than in the pro-independence base: a total of 80 people have been amnestied out of the 160 who could be, which limits its application to only half of the cases. Be that as it may, a significant increase is observed, given that about four months ago the number of amnestied politicians was 64. In the case of the protesters, the increase has been more modest, with only four more amnestied—there were 181. Where the figures remain stable is among the police, a group with 97% amnestied and only six cases in which it has been denied—due to the severity of their actions.

One of these cases is that of the officers tried for the case of activist Roger Español, whose eye was emptied by the Spanish police on October 1st by firing rubber bullets at very close range—a reason for which he alleges intentionality and cruelty. Precisely this coming Thursday, October 1st, the final session of this trial will be held, in which Español's prosecution—without the Public Prosecutor's Office—is requesting thirteen years in prison for the four defendants, including the officer who fired.

The other recent cases

At the end of July, the members of the Parliament Bureau led by Roger Torrent and with members such as Eusebi Campdepadrós, Josep Costa, and Adriana Delgado, as well as the former mayor of Sabadell Maties Serracant, were amnestied. Also in July, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Meritxell Serret was amnestied, the first member of the October 1st government to receive legal absolution –moreover, by the Supreme Court– as well as the pro-independence members of the 2017 Parliament Bureau: Lluís Corominas, Lluís Guinó, Anna Simó, and Ramona Barrufet. In contrast, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia kept the case against Josep Maria Jové and Lluís Salvadó, two of the officials responsible as high-ranking members of the October 1st government, suspended, and it still refused to apply the amnesty despite the CJEU ruling.

Now, the amnesty that must pave the way for all the rest of those indicted for embezzlement is that of the former Minister of Social Rights Dolors Bassa. Her appeal will be debated next Tuesday at the Constitutional Court, which will endorse it based on the report of its president, Cándido Conde-Pumpido. The TC will force, among others, the Supreme Court to apply the law completely.