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Spain's Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant amnesty to the Catalonia region's former leader Carles Puigdemont for embezzlement charges, confirming that an arrest warrant for the separatist leader remains in effect.
The decision can be appealed and might weaken Spain's delicate Socialist-led coalition. It also has personal consequences for Puigdemont, who has been living in France since Catalonia's unsuccessful 2017 attempt to gain independence from Spain.
The court ruled a recent amnesty law doesn't apply in Puigdemont's case.
"The judge of the Supreme Court today issued an order stating the amnesty does not apply to the embezzlement charges against former president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont," said the court in a statement.
Generalitat is the name by which Catalonia's government has been called for more than 700 years.
A law passed on May 30 aimed to pardon hundreds of separatists involved in Catalonia's 2017 secession attempt in exchange for support from separatist parties for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's new term after inconclusive elections.
The pardon applied to separatists charged with public disorder, disobedience, and embezzlement. However, embezzlement cases involving personal gain or affecting the European Union's finances were exempted.
Investigating judge Pablo Llarena ruled that Puigdemont and his former deputies Antonio Comin and Lluis Puig, who held roles in Catalonia's health and culture departments, fall under these exemptions, saying they benefited personally from using regional funds for an illegal referendum, which he argued was against the public's interest.
All three insist the referendum was legal and dispute the charges.
The judge also pointed out the referendum's impact on the EU's financial interests, as Catalonia's secession could have affected Spain's tax revenues and overall economic output.
Llarena confirmed he would continue to seek the arrest of Puigdemont, Comin and Puig.
The ruling is disappointing for Puigdemont, who hoped amnesty would clear all accusations and allow him to return to Spain without fear of arrest.
Puigdemont's Junts party did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.
If Junts withdraws support for bills like the 2025 budget, it could leave Sanchez unable to govern and prompt new elections.
Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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