Spanish Cabinet partially pardons 9 Catalan separatists

The Spanish Cabinet has issued pardons for nine imprisoned instigators of Catalonia’s 2017 secession bid

MADRID -- The Spanish Cabinet issued pardons on Tuesday for nine imprisoned instigators of Catalonia’s 2017 secession bid in a move that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says is needed to bring reconciliation. “The government has taken the decision because it is the best decision for Catalonia and the best decision for Spain,” Sánchez said in a short, nationally televised appearance. “We hope to open a new era of dialogue and build new bridges.” Former Catalan vice president, Oriol Junqueras, who in 2019 got the heaviest sentence of 13 years in prison for sedition and misuse of public funds, will go free along with his associates after spending three-and-a-half years behind bars. The pardons lifted the remaining years of their prison terms, while keeping intact their status as being unfit to hold public office.