Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans to grant pardon by the end of June to a group of Catalan separatists jailed for their involvement in holding an illegal independence referendum in 2017, media reported Spanish.

According to official sources cited on Sunday May 30 by El PaísSánchez plans to call an extraordinary cabinet meeting by the end of June or early July to make what analysts see as one of the most difficult decisions of his tenure.

Of the 12 convicted separatist leaders, nine have been in prison for more than three years.

Opposition parties, including the center-right People’s Party (PP) and far-right VOX party, called for demonstrations on June 13 to protest any possible forgiveness for the 12, which they say showed no remorse for their Actions.

The Center-Liberal Citizens Party (Ciudadanos) has announced that it will join other opposition parties in a bid to challenge the decision in court. The PP accused Sánchez of “treason” and failure to respect the rule of law.

Sánchez said last week that the executive would decide to forgive separatist politicians “for the benefit of Spanish coexistence” and “regardless of the number of seats” backing his government in Madrid, referring to his government’s vital support minority by the Catalan Separatists of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

“There is a time for punishment and [a time] for concord, ”said Sánchez, urging the PP to support him.

The Supreme Court has expressed its reluctance to pardon the independence leaders convicted in October 2019 for sedition, embezzlement of public funds and disobedience.

While the Supreme Court’s ruling is not binding, it now leaves Sánchez’s government on shaky legal ground if it chooses to advance pardons.

[Edited by Daniel Eck and Josie Le Blond]