Prison authorities propose 'Low category' status for jailed independence leaders

The prison authorities of the penitentiary centers where the jailed Catalan independence leaders are serving their sentences for their roles behind the 2017 referendum –  Lledoners, Puig de les Basses, and Wad Ras – have unanimously proposed granting them 'Low category' status.

These conditions will have to be confirmed by the Catalan justice department within two months of Thursday's proposal. If accepted, it would mean that Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Carme Forcadell, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Joaquim Forn, Dolors Bassa, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez would be able to go home on weekends and serve their sentence Monday to Friday.

Three prison regimes

Spain's penal system is made up of three prison regimes, High ('primer grau'), Medium ('segon grau'), and Low ('tercer grau'), with the option of conditional release, with inmates categorized in one of the regimes depending on the seriousness of the offense, their level of intent, and their risk of harming others.

The High category is reserved for dangerous prisoners, while Medium category sees them locked up and subject to normal prison life and Low allows them out at specific times.