Only three Catalan politicians to remain in exile as amnesty law comes into effect

The judicial aftermath of the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, deemed illegal by the Spanish government, led many pro-independence leaders into exile to avoid arrest. 

Around a dozen politicians have done so over the past seven years for various judicial reasons. 

Four of them have already returned, and many others are expected to do so in the next few days. 

This is due to the application of the amnesty law, which came into force one month ago. 

This week, one of the most controversial cases, involving the civic protest group Tsunami Democràtic, was shelved by both the National and Supreme courts. 

As a result, seven more politicians living in exile are now expected to return. After their return, only three of the dozen in exile since 2017 will remain. 

The only three left in exile will be former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, MEP Toni Comín, and Catalan MP Lluís Puig. 

The three still have a case open in the Supreme Court related to the referendum, as they have been denied amnesty due to the misuse of public funds. 

Additionally, Puigdemont is also charged in the Volhov case, concerning an alleged Russian plot supporting Catalan independence. 

All of them still await a decision on the amnesty law, which could take months as some courts have either planned to or already raised it to superior courts. 

So far, 74 people have fully benefited from the amnesty law, and 50 of these are police officers, most from Spain's National Police. 

Initial estimates projected that between 400 and 1600 people would benefit from the law, a number still far from reality.