Spain grants partial pardon to Laura Borràs, commuting prison sentence to two years

The pardon

The Spanish Council of Ministers on Tuesday approved a partial pardon for Laura Borràs, commuting her prison sentence from 4 years, 6 months and 1 day to 2 years. The decision, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on Wednesday, means she will avoid incarceration. The government, in a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, said the pardon was granted for "reasons of justice and equity" and in the terms proposed by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC). The TSJC had convicted Borràs and stated in its ruling that the prison term was "disproportionate and excessive." The remaining penalties, a €36,000 fine and a 4-year, 1-day disqualification from holding elective public office, remain in force. The pardon is conditional on Borràs not committing an intentional crime within five years. It was one of five pardons approved at the last Council of Ministers of the political course, alongside a health-related commutation for cultural manager Natalio Grueso.

Borràs: 'The nightmare does not end'

Borràs reacted on social media, acknowledging that the threat of prison had lifted but insisting the injustice was not resolved. She stressed that the government acted not on its own initiative but at the request of the court that convicted her, which she called a singular way of admitting the sentence was unjust. She maintained that the "nightmare" would persist until a court declared the entire judicial process a grave injustice, citing what she described as a permanent flagrant violation of her civil, democratic and political rights. Borràs also highlighted that the disqualification remains, referring to a 13-year ban on holding elected office, a figure that matches the original sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court but differs from the 4-year, 1-day period the government says is maintained.

“The Spanish government has decided today that I will not go to prison but, also, that it maintains the disqualification of 13 years for any elected office.”

“The nightmare of believing I could be deprived of liberty without having committed any crime ends today. But the nightmare will not end until a court determines that not only the sentence but the entire judicial process I have suffered is a great injustice.”

Political reactions

Junts leader Carles Puigdemont welcomed the pardon as "a relief and cause for joy," adding that beyond the political nature of the case, he was happy for Borràs and her family. Party secretary-general Jordi Turull, however, said the measure "does not repair the harm done" and would not "whitewash the grave injustice perpetrated by the justicieros of La Toga Nostra." He stressed that the disqualification means the damage to Borràs persists.

The opposition People's Party (PP) condemned the move. PP spokeswoman in the Catalan parliament Lorena Roldán called it the "first payment" by the government to Junts in exchange for supporting the state budget. She accused Borràs of splitting contracts and inventing invoices.

“She split contracts, invented concepts and invoices, but nothing happens here. What a shame of a government.”

The conviction

Borràs was convicted of administrative prevarication and document falsification for actions while she headed the Institution of Catalan Letters (ILC). The court found she awarded contracts to a friend without competition and split them to avoid tender thresholds. The Supreme Court confirmed the sentence in February 2025 and rejected her request to apply the amnesty law, ruling that the crimes were corruption unrelated to the Catalan independence process. The TSJC later described the prison term as disproportionate, prompting the government's pardon.