In blow to PM, Spain's parliament rejects amnesty bill for Catalan separatists

Spain's lower house on Tuesday rejected an amnesty bill due to discrepancies on its scope between the ruling Socialists and Catalan separatist parties, in a blow for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that illustrates his parliamentary fragility.

Spain's lower house on Tuesday rejected an amnesty bill due to discrepancies on its scope between the ruling Socialists and Catalan separatist parties, in a blow for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that illustrates his parliamentary fragility. The bill will now return for debate in a parliamentary committee and could eventually be sent back for a fresh vote in the lower house. The amnesty bill is set to define Sanchez's second term and has prompted large protests against it.

Catalan separatists Junts voted against the law after failing to reach a last-minute deal with the PSOE. Junts wanted all exceptions related to terrorism to be removed from the bill since some of its politicians are currently under investigation by courts over alleged terrorism-related crimes. The bill was put forward by Sanchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in exchange for the parliamentary support for a new term in office from Catalan separatist parties Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Junts.