Spain Pardons Jailed Catalan Separatist Leaders

Spain Pardons Jailed Catalan Separatist Leaders
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a statement as he announces pardons for jailed Catalan separatist leaders, at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, on June 22, 2021. Juan Medina/Reuters
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MADRID—Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday pardoned all nine Catalan separatist leaders jailed for their role in a failed independence bid in the region in 2017, one of whom reacted with defiance to news of his impending release.

Sanchez announced the pardons in a televised address. They are conditional and a ban on the leaders holding public office remains in place.