Spain MPs Face Key Vote On Amnesty For Catalan Separatists

Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Mar, 2024) After months of drama, Spanish lawmakers vote Thursday on a divisive amnesty law for Catalan separatists in a measure crucial for defining the rest of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's term.

Drafted by ruling Socialists and the two Catalan separatist parties, the text is the most controversial piece of legislation parliament has voted on since Sanchez came to power in 2018, even dividing his own electorate.

The vote comes at a time of heightened tension between the left-wing government and the right-wing opposition Popular Party which have been exchanging insults for weeks over various graft scandals.

Even the ceremonies to mark 20 years since the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 192 people were overshadowed by the ongoing war of words between the parties, with the Socialists on the offensive over how the PP government at the time mishandled the attacks.

The bill aims to draw a line under years of efforts to prosecute those involved in the failed Catalan independence bid of 2017, which sparked the worst political crisis in Spain in decades.

It would also overturn any convictions stemming from the bid.

Justice Minister Felix Bolanos said the measure would affect "around 400 people".