Quim Forn, Catalonia's interior minister at the time of the 1st October 2017 referendum, and currently serving a 10 year prison sentence for sedition and misuse of public funds, could next week be granted permission to leave prison daily on weekdays.
Weeks ago he delivered all the documentation showing that he has a job and that article 100.2 of the prison regulations could be applied to his case, just as has occurred today with jailed pro-independence activists Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart. Under this provision, Forn could leave the prison on weekdays to go to work and only return to the central Catalonia penitentiary of Lledoners at nights.
The prisoner supervision board meets again on Tuesday, and that could be the date when the board grants the measure, as now seems likely. The decision on Forn and his switch to a prison regime which allows him hours outside the jail every weekday will coincide with the ongoing trial of former Mossos d'Esquadra police chief Josep Lluís Trapero and three other leaders of the Catalan police force. As interior minister, Forn was the political leader with responsibility for the Mossos.
It was decided on March 11th that the nine Catalan political prisoners would serve under a standard prison regime, when they had hoped for an open regime. However, the decision also opened the door to article 100.2 applications, allowing inmates to leave the jail for a few hours at a time during the week for work, educational or volunteer activities.
The board's decision has immediate application. It will be confirmed later by a prison surveillance judge, and prosecutors can appeal it at that point, but the implementation of the board's decision can go ahead immediately. Only an injunction by the Barcelona Audience court could stop the permission being granted.