Spain drops sedition charge against former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont (AP Photo/Gloria Calvi, File)

A Spanish judge has dropped sedition charges against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont for his role in the region’s illegal secession push in 2017 that brought Spain’s most serious political crisis for decades.

Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena took the step, which also included four other Catalan separatists involved in the events of 2017, because changes to Spain’s sedition law mean it no longer covers their alleged wrongdoing, the court said in a statement.