Jailed leader Josep Rull leaves prison for first time on a regular temporary release

One of the nine political leaders imprisoned for organizing the 2017 independence referendum, Josep Rull, left jail for the first time on regular temporary release on Monday morning.

He was granted leave of 12 hours a day, Monday to Friday, by the Catalan prison authorities, to work as a legal advisor for the MútuaTerrassa firm.

Former territory minister, Rull is the eighth jailed leader to enjoy such leave, with Jordi Turull, who has also been granted 12-hour-a-day leave, the only one whose temporary release is still pending.

Last week, Esquerra party leader, Oriol Junqueras, and the former foreign affairs minister, Raül Romeva, also began their leave for the first time. 

Spain's prosecutor had challenged the decision to allow the jailed leaders to enjoy regular temporary leave, although last week a penitentiary court dismissed the appeal in the case of the activist leader, Jordi Cuixart.

On Monday, the prosecutor's appeal against the former Catalan labor and social affairs minister, Dolors Bassa, suffered the same fate. 

Over 200 show their support

Over 200 people were waiting for Rull to show their support when he arrived for his first day of work at MútuaTerrassa, where he will deal with areas such as the circular economy, energy efficiency, and sustainability. 

The former minister arrived at 9:15 am alongside his wife, Meritxell Lluís, and Catalan territory minister, Damià Calvet. Many of the people waiting shouted "freedom" and held flags and placards in favor of independence.