Spanish parliament approves amnesty for Catalan separatists

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has already pardoned nine jailed Catalan independence leaders (Manu Fernandez/AP)

Spain’s parliament has approved an amnesty bill aimed at forgiving crimes — both proven and alleged — committed by Catalan separatists during a chaotic attempt to hold an independence referendum in the region six years ago.

Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez has promoted the amnesty as a way to move past the 2017 secession attempt by the then-leaders of Catalonia, a northeastern region centred around Barcelona where many people speak the local Catalan language as well as Spanish.