Nordafrica - Inglese

World Briefing | Europe: Spain: Madrid Bombing Suspects on Hunger Strike

[NYT - Europe]

Nine defendants in the Madrid train-bombing trial began a hunger strike, joining four others who stopped eating last Thursday to protest the trial, the prison authority and a lawyer for the suspects said. Javier Gómez Bermúdez, the presiding judge, ejected two of the original hunger-strikers from the Madrid courtroom yesterday after they slumped to the floor, apparently weak from dehydration. He said he would authorize prison officials to force-feed them, if necessary. He added that the trial would “not be suspended under any circumstances.” The 13 men, mainly Moroccans, are among 29 suspects who have been on trial since Feb. 15 on charges connected to the bomb attacks on Madrid commuter trains that killed 191 people in 2004.