Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena has rejected a request to apply the amnesty law to Carles Puigdemont and former counselor Antoni Comin. The judge refused to lift national arrest warrants, maintaining that the crime of embezzlement remains an active charge.
The ruling follows a July 1 order stating that procés leaders are excluded from amnesty due to personal patrimonial benefit. While the Court of Justice of the European Union clarified financial interest impacts, Llarena upheld the exclusion on benefit grounds.
The Constitutional Court will now review appeals from pro-independence leaders regarding this interpretation. Llarena also dismissed requests to transfer the case to Catalan courts or archive it based on the principle of non bis in idem regarding other audits.