Spain Rejects Catalan Amnesty

Spanish lawmakers rejected a deeply divisive Catalan amnesty bill with the hardline separatist party that demanded it voting against it on the grounds it did not go far enough.

The bill will now be sent back to a parliamentary commission in a major setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that highlights the fragility of his parliamentary support. 

The bill was rejected by 179 votes to 171 in the 350-seat parliament where Sanchez's left-wing minority government is dependent on a patchwork of support to pass legislation. 

The law will apply to those wanted by the justice system over the 2017 Catalan independence bid, first and foremost the exiled leader of the hardline separatist JxCat party, Carles Puigdemont. 

He was Catalan regional leader in 2017 and fled to Belgium to avoid prosecution.

Although JxCat had demanded the law in exchange for its parliamentary support to secure Sanchez another term in office, it tipped the balance by voting against the bill after its last-minute amendments were rejected. 

The move angered the government, with Justice Minister Felix Bolanos saying it was "incomprehensible" they voted against a bill they had agreed on, siding with the right wing parties that sought "to imprison and outlaw them".

JxCat wanted to amend the text to guarantee the amnesty would apply to anyone accused of "terrorism" or "treason" -- wording absent from the current bill -- over allegations raised in two separate legal probes into Puigdemont. 

"This text is a good starting point... but it has holes that Spain's prejudiced justice system can use to leave the amnesty in tatters," JxCat lawmaker Miriam Nogueras told lawmakers in the debate. 

Both investigating magistrates have been accused by the left of harboring politically-motivated ulterior motives after announcing they would be extending their probes.