Catalan separatists reject amnesty bill, highlighting the fragility of Spain’s minority government

By CIARÁN GILES
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Catalan separatist lawmakers have dealt Spain’s government a blow by voting against a hugely divisive amnesty law that was aimed at helping hundreds of their supporters involved in Catalonia’s unsuccessful 2017 independence bid. The most radical separatists, who want to ensure that their fugitive leader Carles Puigdemont can return home, said the proposed law did not go far enough to protect him. The rejection highlights the fragility of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s minority coalition government. The bill returns to a parliamentary committee, and its backers have 15 days to get a new version passed.