Key facts
- Spain's Constitutional Court ruled that an amnesty law must apply to Catalan separatists, including those accused of embezzlement.
- The ruling could allow separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to return to Spain without fear of arrest.
- Puigdemont fled to Belgium in 2017 after Catalonia declared independence.
- The amnesty law was a condition for Catalan separatist parties' support of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government.
- Junts, Puigdemont's party, withdrew support, leading to a snap election on November 29.
- The Supreme Court judge handling Puigdemont's case will decide on lifting an arrest warrant.
Spain's Constitutional Court has ruled that an amnesty law must be applied to Catalan separatists, including those facing embezzlement charges, clearing a significant obstacle for the potential return of exiled leader Carles Puigdemont. The decision, made by the court's progressive-leaning majority, came in response to an appeal by separatist politician Dolors Bassa against a Supreme Court ruling that had denied applying the amnesty for embezzlement crimes.