Spanish parliament passes controversial amnesty bill

Right-wing opposition party Partido Popular (PP) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo applauds after speaking before a vote on final approval of the amnesty law for Catalan separatists at the Congress in Madrid, on May 30, 2024. Spain lawmakers hold final vote on a controversial law to grant amnesty to Catalan separatists involved in the failed 2017 independence bid at the Congress in Madrid, on May 30, 2024. [AFP]

Spain's parliament gave the final green light to a controversial amnesty bill for Catalan separatists Thursday, paving the way for the return of their figurehead Carles Puigdemont after years of self-imposed exile.

The legislation seeks to draw a line under years of efforts to prosecute those involved in the failed 2017 Catalan independence bid that triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades.