Jordi Sànchez walked out of the door of Lledoners jail early this afternoon to begin the first prison leave he has received, after serving a quarter of his sentence.
Former Catalan National Assembly (ANC) leader Sànchez left the central Catalonia prison nine days after fellow pro-independence activist Jordi Cuixart did the same for his own first 48-hour leave. Both were sentenced to nine years' prison in last year's trial of Catalan independence leaders. They have been in prison for two years and three months.
"I'm starting my first two-day leave to be with the family. A leave is not liberty, it is a 48-hour parenthesis after 19,944 hours in prison," Sanchez said on social media after leaving jail. "Only an amnesty will give us back freedom. Thanks for all your support and respect. We're going strong, not weakening."
Sànchez, leader of the ANC civil society group at the time of the 2017 referendum and now leader of the political party La Crida, left Lledoners with his wife and one of his daughters.
Sànchez and Cuixart, convicted of sedition, have the right to 36 days of annual leave, with a maximum of seven consecutive days, as part of the standard "second degree" prison regime the prison service has determined for them.
To be eligible for these intervals of leave, prisoners who have served a quarter of their sentence must also show good conduct within the penitentiary and an attitude that gives prison authorities confidence in their return to prison.
The Jordis are the first of the seven independence leaders in Lledoners prison who have been granted leave, as they were also the first to be jailed, entering pre-trial imprisonment on October 16th 2017.