Carles Puigdemont

After being elected to the European Parliament, Puigdemont enjoyed parliamentary immunity. In 2021, Parliament voted to lift it at Spain's request. The General Court upheld that decision in 2023, but in February 2026 the Court of Justice annulled Parliament's decisions, ruling that the rapporteur handling the requests lacked the required guarantees of impartiality because of his political links.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

On 8 August 2024, Puigdemont publicly reappeared in Barcelona before Salvador Illa's investiture, gave a speech and then evaded the police operation despite an outstanding national arrest warrant. The Mossos launched "Operación Jaula" without managing to arrest him and subsequently acknowledged operational errors. In 2026, a judge prosecuted three officers suspected of helping him.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Person targeted by the proceedings

trois agents des Mossos d'Esquadra

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Puigdemont is among approximately thirty former Catalan officials facing Court of Auditors proceedings over spending connected with the referendum and the external activities of the procés. Following the CJEU's July 2026 ruling on the amnesty law, the accounting court did not immediately close the case and asked the parties to address the possible origin of EU funds.

Attribution

Accused

Branches of the so-called Voloh investigation examined possible contacts between the pro-independence movement and Russian actors before or after the 2017 referendum, including allegations of attempts to secure international support. In 2025, after the Barcelona Provincial Court closed that branch, the Supreme Court ruled out opening a high-treason investigation against Puigdemont.

In 2024, the Supreme Court opened an investigation into Puigdemont and MP Ruben Wagensberg over possible involvement in Tsunami Democràtic, a movement behind mass demonstrations following the conviction of procés leaders. In July 2024, the investigating judge closed the case after the National Court invalidated investigative measures carried out beyond the statutory deadline.

State of the evidence

Documented