Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia, can return to Spain without fear of arrest. The decision, made on Monday, 19 October 2026, means Puigdemont can end his nearly decade-long self-imposed exile.
The court upheld a previous decision to lift an arrest warrant for Puigdemont, which was linked to the 2017 independence referendum organised by his regional government in defiance of Madrid. This ruling also extends to his former ministers, Lluís Puig and Toni Comín.
Puigdemont fled to Belgium after the 2017 vote, where he has been based since. His return to Spain had been complicated by charges of alleged financial crimes related to staging the referendum, which had initially excluded him from a 2024 amnesty for Catalan politicians and activists. However, the Constitutional Court overruled that interpretation earlier this month.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the far-right Vox party against lifting the national arrest warrants. While it is not yet known when Puigdemont might return, his former regional minister for health, Toni Comín, plans to travel to Madrid this week for administrative procedures linked to his status as an MEP.