Judge suspends open regime for Lledoners prisoners

BarcelonaPolitical prisoners at Lledoners penitentiary will no longer be under an open prison regime. The same day that the European Parliament withdrew ex president Carles Puigdemont immunity and former Catalan ministers Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí's immunity, the judge of penitentiary surveillance has also decided to overturn the regime of semi-freedom enjoyed by the pro-independence leaders since the end of January. According to sources close to the prisoners, the judge has decided to overturn the third degree as demanded by the Prosecutor's Office. Although they have not yet received official communication, in all probability this evening the prisoners will have to return to prison and will no longer be able to leave daily as they did until now or spend weekends at home. Yes they will be able, however, to benefit from the different permits to which they are entitled to for having served a quarter of the sentence.

At the end of February, the same judge had decided to keep the prisoners in semi-freedom while resolving the merits of the appeal of the Public Prosecutor's Office. Now, however, the magistrate has decided that the open regime with the Generalitat has transferred the prisoners is not correct and has revoked it. The secretary general of JxCat, Jordi Sànchez, has already reacted through his Twitter account, where he has warned that the withdrawal of the third degree will not silence them or make them "renounce to continue working to build an independent, fully free, democratic and prosperous country". Sànchez is leading the negotiations with ERC and the CUP for the investiture of Pere Aragonès on behalf of Junts.