The Catalan labour minister Dolors Bassa, in pre-trial jail since 23 March, will be able to attend her mother’s imminent operation on Saturday.
The Spanish Supreme Court has granted her a special license for a two-hour release as long as ‘all necessary security measures’ are taken.
It is the first time that any of the nine jailed pro-independence leaders is given such license since the first two of them were put behind bars on 16 October 2017.
On Thursday, the court prosecutor came out in favor of granting Bassa a licence for temporary release from prison, as long as she is accompanied by police officers at all times, after Bassa’s defense team made the request for temporary leave on Wednesday. Her lawyers also asked the public to not hold any demonstration in order to safeguard Bassa’s family’s intimacy.
Months in pre-trial prison
Bassa first spent a month in prison last autumn, and was then jailed for a second time on 23 March this year, along with former Catalan Parliament president Carme Forcadell, as well as former ministers Jordi Turull, Josep Rull and Raül Romeva. Former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras and former home affairs minister Joaquim Forn have been behind bars since 2 November, while pro-independence grassroots leaders Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart have been imprisoned since 16 October, making more than 10 months and 300 days.
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