Spain's Supreme Court clears Carles Puigdemont to return from exile

Spain's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that former Catalonia president Carles Puigdemont can return to Spain without facing arrest. The court upheld a decision to lift a national arrest warrant against him, nearly a decade after he left the country following a failed independence bid. The ruling also cleared former ministers Lluís Puig and Toni Comín, rejecting an appeal by the far-right Vox party.

The warrant stemmed from Puigdemont's role in organizing a 2017 referendum that defied Madrid. That vote sparked Spain's biggest political crisis since democracy was restored after Francisco Franco's death. Madrid imposed direct rule, dissolved the regional parliament, and sacked its leaders, prompting Puigdemont to flee to Belgium.

In 2024, Spain's socialist government enacted an amnesty for Catalan politicians and activists involved in the secession drive. However, the Supreme Court argued Puigdemont and several colleagues should be excluded due to alleged financial crimes related to the referendum. The Constitutional Court overruled that interpretation earlier this month, leading to Monday's decision.

Puigdemont has remained politically active while in exile. He was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2019 and to the Catalan parliament in 2024 as leader of the centre-right Together for Catalonia (JxCat). While based in Waterloo, Belgium, nine of his former colleagues were jailed for their role in the 2017 events; they were released after the Spanish government pardoned them in 2021. He made a brief return to Barcelona in 2024, addressing supporters before escaping back to France. In a video after the ruling, he said his role was to 'stir public opinion, internationalise the conflict and work from the heart of Europe to explain the reality of Spain.'

It is still not known when Puigdemont might return. Comín plans to travel to Madrid this week for administrative procedures related to his status as an MEP. Meanwhile, Catalan independence is now a marginal issue in Spanish politics, with housing and immigration dominating the agenda. JxCat's support was instrumental in forming Pedro Sánchez's government after the 2023 election, but the party is struggling in Catalonia as the far-right Catalan Alliance gains voters. Next month's general election could see the far right enter government for the first time.