On 16 July 2026, the Court of Justice of the EU greenlit the amnesty law. According to the columnist, this affects 164 defendants still awaiting trial.
As reported by edomexaldia.com, columnist Jordi Oriola Folch dedicates his article to the situation of separatism nine years after the 2017 referendum. His thesis is that the movement remains alive and that the judicial landscape is beginning to change following a recent ruling.
The piece begins with the Diada of 11 September, where around 150,000 people took to the streets in Barcelona, Girona, and Tortosa. The author acknowledges that the number is lower than in the peak years, but considers it higher than any other political cause called in Catalonia, Spain, or Europe.
The central point is the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), which on 16 July 2026 endorsed the amnesty law. According to the columnist, this ruling mandates the amnesty of the 164 separatists awaiting trial, including former president Carles Puigdemont and the exiled former councillors in Belgium.
The author recalls that the law was approved on 30 May 2024. Since then, he claims, the Spanish judiciary has exonerated 97% of the police investigated for the actions of 1-O, while only 62% of the Catalan defendants have been amnestied, mostly in lesser cases.
“Our nations have the right to determine their future by democratic means and in accordance with the will of the people.”
On the international front, the columnist places the Catalan case alongside Quebec and Scotland. He notes that on 14 September, in Cardiff, Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Welsh Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Northern Irish Michelle O'Neill signed a pact in favour of the right to self-determination.
For the Catalan reader, the article also highlights the rise of Aliança Catalana, which the author describes as a far-right separatist party. The text does not specify when the pending amnesties will be executed or what judicial steps will follow the CJEU ruling.
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