“The public prosecutor disagrees with the interpretation” of the judge who on Monday refused amnesty for Puigdemont, who has been living in exile in Belgium after fleeing Spain to avoid prosecution over the botched 2017 Catalan independence bid.

In the decision, judge Pablo Llarena said the newly-minted amnesty law for Catalan separatists could not be applied in Puigdemont’s case because it fell into the category of two exceptions: where the money taken was used for personal gain and where it involved European Union funds.

The public prosecutor’s office said it would also ask that the detention orders against Puigdemont and others also be lifted, as required by the law.

The Supreme Court move came just over a month after MPs passed an amnesty law aimed at drawing a line under years of efforts to prosecute those involved in the botched secession bid that triggered Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.

Blocking the amnesty for Puigdemont could complicate life for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who in November offered the amnesty in exchange for the crucial parliamentary support of Catalan parties to secure a new term in office.

After parliament passed the amnesty law on May 30th, judges were given two months to apply the legislation by annulling the charges and cancelling any arrest warrants against the separatists.

But with the legislation being applied on a case-by-case basis, it looks set to be a long and drawn-out process.

Last year, the Supreme Court dropped the sedition charges against Puigdemont and two others following a controversial criminal code reform.

But prosecutors filed fresh charges against them for misuse of public funds and disobedience in connection with the independence bid.

Although both charges fall under the scope of the new law, there were two exceptions for misappropriation of public funds — both of which have been applied in Puigdemont’s case.