SPAIN’S parliament today approved a controversial amnesty Bill aimed at forgiving crimes committed by Catalan separatists during an attempt to hold an independence referendum in the region six years ago.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has promoted the amnesty as a way to move past the 2017 secession attempt by the then leaders of Catalonia, a north-eastern region centred around Barcelona.

The secession crisis erupted in 2017 when a regional administration staged a referendum on independence, defying orders from the national government and a ruling from Spain’s top court.