The Supreme pardons the first minister of the 1-O Government

MadridThe Supreme Court has amnestied the first minister of the 1-O government. Specifically, the high court has applied the measure of grace to former minister Meritxell Serret, who was sentenced by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) to one year of disqualification and a 12,000 euro fine for her participation in the organization of the 1-O referendum. In 2017, Serret was Minister of Agriculture. She later became Minister of Foreign Action with the government of Pere Aragonès and then government delegate in Brussels while she was in exile. "This [criminal] chamber has decided that the acts for which [Meritxell Serret] has been accused are declared amnestied," concludes the Supreme Court's order to which ARA has had access. In this way, the former minister is exempt from all criminal responsibilities attributed to her.

The Supreme Court's decision comes after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, a pronouncement that the high court decided to tacitly await. In fact, last week the Supreme Court already applied the amnesty to eight independentists who were pending it. These are three protesters convicted of aggravated public disorder in the protests following the ruling of the trial of the Process: the former mayor of Sabadell Maties Serracant (CUP), who assumed the powers of the schools to make 1-O possible, and the four members of the Parliament's bureau – with Roger Torrent at the head – who were acquitted of having disobeyed the rulings of the TC.

ERC has celebrated the Supreme Court's decision. "We are satisfied," emphasize the Republicans in a statement issued this Monday night. For the party, "the solid strategy followed with the amnesty law is validated, and based on the forceful ruling of the CJEU, it was already inevitable that the Supreme Court would finally do what it should have done from the first day: apply the amnesty law approved in Congress." In any case, the Republicans emphasize that this is what must happen "immediately" with the rest of the cases "in order to restore all political rights of all repressed persons, so that exiles can return home, and to be able to discuss politically and democratically the conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish state without repression," said the formation of Oriol Junqueras in a statement.

In fact, it should be remembered that Carles Puigdemont himself has opted to take the battle to Brussels for the immediate non-application of the amnesty by the Supreme Court - nor is the Court of Auditors doing so - and has denounced Spain to the European Commission for having suspended de facto the deadline for issuing the amnesty.