A demonstrator holds a flyer depicting former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont during a demonstration near the European Parliament in Brussels, on September 24, 2021 after the exiled politician was arrested in Italy. - The European MEP is expected to appear in court at a hearing that could see him extradited to Spain to face sedition charges. The Catalan leader, who has been based in Belgium since the 2017 referendum, is detained in Alghero, Sardinia. AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
The Spanish Supreme Court on Thursday dropped sedition charges against former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont over a failed 2017 independence bid that sparked Spain's worst political crisis in decades.
The move follows a reform of Spain's criminal code in December that abolished the offence of sedition and replaced it with the charge of public disorder, which carries softer penalties.
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