The Council of Ministers approved a partial pardon for Laura Borràs on Tuesday, 28 July, reducing her prison sentence to two years. The decision means the former president of the Parliament of Catalonia will not enter prison under the terms of the measure.

Borràs had been sentenced to four years, six months and one day for prevarication and document forgery. The partial pardon applies to the custodial sentence, while the remaining penalties are not removed.

The High Court of Justice of Catalonia said the prison term required under the applicable Criminal Code was "disproportionate and excessive" in relation to the conduct established in the case.

TSJC proposed reducing the prison term

The High Court of Justice of Catalonia, known as the TSJC, is Catalonia's highest regional court. It had formally proposed a partial pardon that would leave Borràs with a two-year prison sentence, and suspended the custodial sentence while the Spanish government considered the request.

The Supreme Court had upheld her conviction and the sentence of four years, six months and one day. The TSJC proposal concerned only the part of the prison term exceeding two years.

Conviction concerned contracts at the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes

The case concerned Borràs's period as director of the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes, a Catalan public body supporting literature, between 2013 and 2018. The proven facts found that 18 minor contracts, worth more than €330,000 in total, were improperly divided to award work directly to a computer technician known to her.

  • Original prison sentence: four years, six months and one day.
  • Prison term after the partial pardon: two years.
  • Contracts examined in the case: 18, worth more than €330,000.

The Supreme Court also rejected applying Spain's amnesty law, finding that the offences were not connected to the Catalan independence process. The conviction resulted in Borràs losing her seat in the Parliament of Catalonia.

Reported by Source Text Link, May Mariño, Carlota Guindal, Marc Toro, Dani Cordero, Agencias, Laia Galià, Marc Toro, Núria Orriols, Martina Alcobendas, catalannews.com, RTVE.es, Carlota Camps, Redacción, Artículo14, Andrea Villoria, ondavasca.com, cope.es.