Jailed Catalan leaders end hunger strike

Jailed Catalan leaders have ended a hunger strike that started over two weeks ago to denounce Spain’s Constitutional Court delay in handling their appeals, which prevented them from bringing their cases to the European Court of Human Rights.

Pro-independence leaders Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Turull announced an indefinite hunger strike on December 1. Joaquim Forn, and Josep Rull, former ministers like Turull, then joined their protest two days later.

With the trial against pro-independence leaders due to start in Madrid in the coming weeks, a joint letter by former Catalan presidents and former parliament speakers urged the hunger strikers to stop the protest in order to save their strength for the proceedings.

The current Catalan president, Quim Torra, also urged jailed leaders to put an end to the hunger strike: "They are amazingly brave, but we’re feeling anxious about them."