Llarena lifts Puigdemont's indictment and sends the amnesty file to the Supreme Court

Llarena closes the Puigdemont file

Judge Pablo Llarena, the Supreme Court magistrate who has run the investigation into the procés, issued an order on Tuesday, 3 November 2026 that lifts the indictment against Carles Puigdemont, the Junts leader and former Catalan president. The same order covers former councillors Toni Comín and Lluís Puig and declares the investigation (sumario) concluded for all three. Llarena has sent the file to the Sala de lo Penal, the Supreme Court panel that tried the independence leaders, so that it can decide whether to apply the amnesty law and close the case for good. The indictment had charged Puigdemont with embezzlement (malversación). The order also rejected reform appeals filed by Puigdemont and Comín, and it dismissed an appeal brought by the popular accusation led by Vox against the lifting of the arrest warrants.

How the case reached this stage

On 6 October the Constitutional Court ruled that the Supreme Court should have applied the amnesty law in 2024 to former Govern members who had been convicted or prosecuted for embezzlement. The ruling granted amparo to former councillor Dolors Bassa. That same day Llarena lifted the arrest warrants against Puigdemont, Comín and Puig, but he held off closing the file while he analysed the ruling and several pending appeals. Before the Constitutional Court intervened, the Supreme Court had refused to extend amnesty to the embezzlement charge, a position that was later corrected. On 20 October the Sala de lo Penal applied the amnesty to Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa and Jordi Turull, a step that signaled the other cases would follow.

In his new order Llarena said he does not share the Constitutional Court's reasoning, but that its doctrine must be applied and that his disagreement cannot delay compliance. He also said the ruling lacked restraint. The order makes clear that his earlier decision to lift the warrants only removed the arrest orders and did not conclude the case, which still awaits a final ruling on the extinction of liability and dismissal by the competent court.

Where Puigdemont stands

Comín and Puig returned to Spain after their arrest warrants were lifted, which allowed them to come back without the risk of arrest. Puigdemont has stayed in Belgium, and he and his party have not said when he will return. They have hinted that it will not happen before the 29-N general election. The tone of the Constitutional Court's ruling caused unease at the Supreme Court, and several of its orders criticized remarks made by the ruling's reporting judge, Constitutional Court president Cándido Conde-Pumpido.

What happens next

The closing of the investigation is an intermediate step, not a final dismissal. The Sala de lo Penal must now decide whether to end the investigation phase and issue a full dismissal (sobreseimiento libre) under the amnesty law. The sources do not give a date for that ruling, and until it arrives the case stays with the Supreme Court panel.