{"id":19150,"date":"2021-06-23T06:46:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T10:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=19150"},"modified":"2021-06-23T06:46:59","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T10:46:59","slug":"spain-pardons-catalan-leaders-over-independence-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/06\/23\/spain-pardons-catalan-leaders-over-independence-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain pardons Catalan leaders over independence bid"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">The Spanish government has formally pardoned nine Catalan separatists who were convicted over a failed independence bid in 2017.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The leaders were imprisoned after being found guilty of sedition in 2019. Three others were convicted of disobedience but not jailed at the same time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The pardons have sparked controversy in Spain and tens of thousands protested against the decision this month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But the government argues the move will help calm tensions over Catalonia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The semi-autonomous region&#8217;s drive for independence almost four years ago plunged Spain into its biggest political crisis in 40 years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;With this act, we want to open a new era of dialogue and reconciliation, and end once and for all the division and confrontation,&#8221; said Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez in a televised address on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-57463708\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thousands join protests against Catalan pardons<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-29478415\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Catalonia&#8217;s quarrel with Spain explained<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-41584864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Catalan crisis in 300 words<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The prisoners&#8217; release may take up to several days, as the pardons must first be signed by the king and published in the country&#8217;s official gazette.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The decision did not overturn the prisoners&#8217; ban on holding office and was conditional on them not committing any other crimes within a certain period of time, Mr S\u00e1nchez explained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He said the government did not require those pardoned to abandon their political ideas, underlining that they had been convicted for their actions and not their beliefs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">One of the nine who were imprisoned, Catalonia&#8217;s former foreign minister Ra\u00fcl Romeva, remained defiant.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;By pardoning nine people, they will not hide the repression they continue exercising against hundreds of separatists,&#8221; he said in a tweet. &#8220;We won&#8217;t give up the fight: amnesty and self-determination!&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">A number of opposition parties have said they intend to appeal against the pardons. The centre-right leader of the Madrid region, Isabel D\u00edaz Ayuso, said that the government&#8217;s decision was a humiliation for Spain: &#8220;far from bringing harmony, [it] strengthens separatism and social division&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-ve3352-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">What happened in 2017?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The ruling separatists in the Catalan parliament declared independence in October 2017, after a referendum which the Spanish Constitutional Court declared illegal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The Spanish government maintains that Catalonia had no constitutional right to break away, and temporarily imposed direct rule on the region after the government in Barcelona declared independence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">A number of Catalan officials, including the region&#8217;s leader Carles Puigdemont, fled abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But others who remained in Spain were put on trial and nine separatists were given prison sentences over their role in the independence attempt in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-md0xev-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-ve3352-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">How have Spaniards reacted to the pardons?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">According to one newspaper poll, more than 60% of people are against the decision, and mass protests were held in the capital, Madrid, earlier this month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Many argue the decision threatens Spain&#8217;s national unity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Jorge Blanco, an office worker in Madrid, told the BBC the decision was &#8220;a way of destabilising democracy and splitting up Spain&#8221;, and said he feared it could set a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;Perhaps [Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez] feels like he has to do this, because we&#8217;ve seen this coming for a long time. But it means that we might see similar independence movements in other areas of Spain,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u00c1ngel Santos, a petrol pump attendant in the capital, said he believed the nine Catalan leaders should remain in prison: &#8220;If they&#8217;ve done something wrong, they should serve their sentence just like any other person.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The country&#8217;s Supreme Court has also said it opposes the decision, although its position is not binding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But in Catalonia, there is anger too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">When Mr S\u00e1nchez announced the plans to pardon the leaders in Barcelona on Monday, hundreds of demonstrators outside called for independence from Spain and said the separatists should not have been convicted in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">School teacher Josep Sunyer told Reuters news agency: &#8220;It is good because it is a step that the Spanish government has taken, but it falls short because in principle it only lets them get out of prison.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He added that the decision would not overturn the leaders&#8217; ban on holding public office or offer an amnesty to hundreds of others facing charges over the 2017 referendum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The independence movement has said the Spanish pardons came as the European Court of Human Rights prepared to consider appeals by three of the jailed leaders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Catalonia&#8217;s exiled former leader Carles Puigdemont said on Sunday that the pardons would not resolve the political problem between Spain and the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;The Spanish state will release some political prisoners &#8211; who should not have spent a day in prison &#8211; before the European justice orders it. But it will do so three and a half years too late.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-57565764\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The Spanish government has formally pardoned nine Catalan separatists who were convicted over a failed independence bid in 2017. The leaders were imprisoned after being found guilty of sedition in 2019. Three others were convicted <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/06\/23\/spain-pardons-catalan-leaders-over-independence-bid\/\" title=\"Spain pardons Catalan leaders over independence bid\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,6],"tags":[7860,4220,933],"class_list":{"0":"post-19150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-world","10":"tag-catalan-separatists","11":"tag-catalonia","12":"tag-spain","13":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19150"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19152,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19150\/revisions\/19152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}