Some of the twelve Catalan separatists have been in prison for more than three years.

According to Pedro Sánchez, that is enough.

“There is a time for punishment and a time for harmony,” says the Spanish Prime Minister.

Now it is a matter of promoting the "peaceful coexistence of all Spaniards".

His left minority government wants to defuse the Catalonia conflict with a conciliatory gesture.

Hans-Christian Roessler

Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb, based in Madrid.

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    When it comes to pardons, the Socialists (PSOE) and Podemos cannot be dissuaded by the Supreme Court in Madrid.

    According to the judges, the convicts had done nothing to justify such a step.

    Above all, according to the judges, the politicians and activists lacked the necessary “remorse”.

    In October 2019, the Supreme Court sentenced nine of them to long imprisonment terms for their participation in the independence referendum on October 1, 2017, which had been declared illegal.

    Former Deputy Prime Minister Oriol Junqueras received 13 years;

    the other three received fines.

    "I would not pardon her"

    It is not yet clear when Sánchez's minority government will issue a royal decree on pardons. There is speculation in Madrid that this could happen in the summer when the Spaniards are on vacation. But the gesture of reconciliation is already encountering fierce resistance across all parties - including among the socialists. "I would not pardon her," warned former Prime Minister Felipe González. The PSOE Regional President of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, made a similar statement. After the recent electoral defeat in Madrid, fear is growing among socialists that the Spanish right could mobilize voters with the issue.

    The right-wing populist Vox party, which owes its political rise to the escalation in Catalonia, has already threatened to take the protests onto the streets.

    "We will not allow this outrage against the constitution, the judiciary and the nation," complained the chairman of the conservative People's Party (PP) Pablo Casado.

    His party wants to go legally “to the last” when it comes to possible pardons.

    Vox and the liberal Ciudadanos are also aiming for a lawsuit.

    Majority in parliament

    Even among the Catalan separatists, Sánchez's advance is not happy. Not only the radical separatists, but also the new Catalan regional president Pere Aragonès is calling for an amnesty instead. From the convict's point of view, a pardon would mean an admission of guilt. They see themselves persecuted because of their political views, to which most of them hold fast: "We will do it again," said the head of the separatist organization Òmnium, Jordi Cuixart, in court. This sentence is also a slogan for independence advocates. According to surveys, many Catalans who do not want their own state also consider the penalties to be too high.

    After the refusal of the Supreme Court, which is not legally binding, a full pardon is no longer possible. However, the minority government could suspend the remaining sentences. The Minister of Justice now has to work out a draft. A cabinet decision is sufficient for a corresponding royal decree. There would even be a majority in parliament for this: the regional and left-wing parties that have ensured Pedro Sánchez's political survival so far would support such a step. At the same time, Sánchez wants to resume dialogue with the newly constituted Catalan regional government as soon as possible. With the moderate separatist Pere Aragonès elected a week ago at the helm, the chances are increased that both sides will start talking again,even if the pardons prove difficult.