Will pardoning Catalan leaders calm Spanish tensions?

Spanish PM hoping to create ‘spirit of dialogue’ as separatist leaders vow to fight on

Pro-independence supporters gather in Barcelona in 2018 on the first anniversary of the referendum
Pro-independence supporters gather in Barcelona in 2018 on the first anniversary of the referendum
(Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced that his government will pardon the nine leaders of Catalonia’s failed 2017 independence referendum in an effort to promote reconciliation in the divided nation.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.