A Spanish judge lifts an arrest warrant for exiled Catalan former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, clearing the way for him to return to Spain without fear of detention. Multiple outlets report the decision is made ahead of Spain’s general election in November.
The reporting links the move to broader legal developments affecting Puigdemont’s case and related charges. Euronews, and the South China Morning Post in particular, note that Spain’s Constitutional Court supports extending a 2024 amnesty law to cover additional offenses, described by the outlet as including embezzlement. Other coverage focuses more directly on the immediate consequence—Puigdemont’s ability to come back—rather than the legal rationale.
Puigdemont has been living abroad since Catalonia’s unilateral independence bid in 2017. Euronews also adds that he left Spain after a brief public appearance in Barcelona in 2024 without being detained.
