Jailed leader Bassa's new book details personal experiences of imprisonment

A new book co-authored by one of the Catalan leaders jailed over the 2017 independence bid was published on Friday, detailing her experiences in prison from when she was arrested in October that year until November 2019, after she was sentenced to 12 years for sedition.

'Carregades de raons' (Packed with Reasons), published by Ara Llibres, is written by former jailed Catalan labor minister Dolors Bassa, along with her sister, MP in the Spanish parliament for the pro-independence ERC party, Montse Bassa.

Among the experiences the book relates is the moment Bassa received the news of her jail sentence and the difficulty of explaining it to her family. Told in the first person, the book details the impact of the sentence on her family, as well as her day-to-day life in prison.

The book opens with a prologue by the also-jailed leader, former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, and in fact the former speaker features at various moments in the book, especially when the two women shared "bad news" together.

However, when she was eventually transferred to a prison in Catalonia, Bassa and Forcadell were separated and the former minister relates her feelings of loneliness, as well as the sleepless nights she experienced due to anxiety.

In fact, in the book, Bassa explains that at one point she and Forcadell were on the point of asking for a prison transfer so that they could be together, but they eventually gave up on the idea after prioritizing being as close as possible to their families.

Rull to work toward Agenda 2030

Elsewhere, another jailed leader, Josep Rull, will work for the MútuaTerrassa group. He will focus on areas related to circular economy, energy efficiency, and sustainability, and working towards Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. 

This is a position that MútuaTerrassa had outsourced until now. The former Minister of territory and sustainability will combine his professional activity with a volunteer service. 

Earlier this week, the prison authority granted him and fellow jailed independence leader Jordi Turull regular daytime leave of 12 hours per day, Monday to Friday.