Maximum penalty of new crime of aggravated public disorder will be 5 years in jail

The maximum penalty of the new crime of aggravated public disorder, which replaces the current sedition, will be three to five years in jail.

Socialist senior MP Patxi López explained details of the amendment announced by Spain's PM Pedro Sánchez on Friday, also including six to eight years of disqualification for those found guilty of the new crime.

The current crime of sedition could carry up to 15 years behind bars, and the politicians and activists convicted for their roles in the 2017 referendum were sentenced to between 9 and 13 years for sedition and misuse of public funds.

Until now, the aggravated public disorder crime carries a maximum six years behind bars.

The Catalan government sided in favor of the reform, while the opposition independence parties are skeptical.

Puigdemont's extradition easier, say Socialists

Patxi López also said that the reform of the criminal code may ease an extradition of the exiled Catalan leaders, such as former president Carles Puigdemont.

"Those who are abroad will be eligible to be sought," he added. 

"Since sedition did not exist in other countries, the collaboration [to extradite leaders] with these countries was not possible, the crime did not exist for them and this prevented extraditions."

"With this reform, this will not happen again, there will no longer be a haven for the crimes against public order," he said, confirming that if he returns, Puigdemont will be tried.

The leader of the Socialists in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, said that the new reformed law "doesn't decriminalize anything, it doesn't offer any amnesty" to any pro-independence politician.

"It's simply a sensible, from our point of view, update of the penal code that takes into account [the independence push in] 2017 and brings us closer to European standards," Illa added.

Discrepancies over whether 2017 independence push will be a crime

What will be the future scenarios after the expected reform of the crime of seditions is still unclear.

While the convicted leaders have since been pardoned and released, their pardons can still be reversed and they are still serving a decade-long disqualification from public office.

The amended criminal code could also have an impact on the exiled leaders. 

On Friday morning, the leader of the Socialists in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, said: "The events of 2017 are not decriminalized and we say 'no' to amnesty."

Yet, the leader of Unidas Podemos in Congress, Jaume Asens, said "the events of 2017 do not fit with the crime of public disorder."

He expressed that they could only be convicted for misuse of public funds, but in the 2019 conviction of the nine referendum leaders this was linked to sedition.

"There's no crime in the penal code that allows the prosecution of [the independence push] of 2017, that's my opinion," he said.

"Misuse of public money still exists [as a crime], but the Supreme Court and its prosecutors dismissed the possibility that the events of 2017 could fall under the crime of 'aggravated public disorder.' That's what they said, I'm not going to be the one to correct their opinion."

Asens would favor also the reform of the crime of misuse of funds, but admitted that "not all hot topics can be opened at the same time."

Indeed, he believes if it was also amended, it could be easier for Puigdemont to return.

Amendment expected to pass in Congress

The changes have to be passed in Congress before coming into force. 

On Friday, López and Unidas Podemos' parliamentary president, Jaume Asens, registered the proposal in the Spanish lower chamber. 

Talking to RAC 1 radio station, Asens said that the amendments could be in force by the end of 2022.

The reform is expected to garner the support of a majority of MPs. The Spanish government is backed by 153 MPs, 23 short of the majority, but Esquerra (13 seats), the party backing the Catalan government, is set to back it and the Basque nationalist forces (11 altogether) will also support it, as suggested already on Friday.