Spanish Supreme Court rejects amnesty for Puigdemont after EU court ruling

Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has rejected former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former minister Toni Comín's request to have Spain's amnesty law applied to them for the offence of misappropriation of public funds.

The request was made following a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in July that said Spain's amnesty law covering the Catalan independence push was not contrary to EU law.

Llarena agrees that the European court ruled out any impact on the EU's financial interests but argues that it did not alter the argument concerning personal financial benefit.

The judge also notes that Spain's Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the issue, grounds which he continues to cite for excluding the application of the amnesty law in the case of misappropriation of public funds.