Jordi Turull, former spokesman for the regional Catalan government of Carles Puigdemont, began a hunger strike on December 1 in Lledoners prison north of Barcelona.

Turull and other Catalan leaders are in custody pending a trial on charges ranging from sedition to rebellion after they attempted to break away from Spain in 2017 by staging a referendum.

Turull and another leader Jordi Sanchez began a hunger strike to protest what they said was a Constitutional Court block of their attempted appeal against their provisional detention.

"Though he is in stable condition, the time that has passed and his individual condition meant Jordi Turull needed to be transferred to the hospital," his doctor Jaume Padros wrote on Twitter. "There are no worrying signs, this is part of medical protocol," he wrote.

Turull and Sanchez are accused of rebellion for their part in the attempted breakaway of the Catalan region last year. The trial of the two men and other Catalan leaders is expected to begin in Spain's Supreme Court early next year. Two other jailed leaders also joined the hunger strike after Turull.

Current Catalan president Quim Torra has stepped up his separatist rhetoric after his own government was weakened by a wave of strikes by doctors and teachers and by protests by radical separatists. </s> FILE PHOTO: Jordi Turull, a Catalan separatist leader, walks with his wife Blanca Bragulat after leaving Spain's Supreme Court in Madrid where he testified for an investigation into his role in Catalonia's bid for independence, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo

MADRID (Reuters) - Two more jailed Catalan separatist leaders awaiting trial for their role in the region’s failed bid to secede from Spain joined a hunger strike started two days ago by two of their companions to protest against their treatment by Spanish courts.

After Catalonia declared independence last year, Madrid took direct control of the region and brought charges including misuse of public funds and rebellion against Catalan leaders, nine of whom are in jail awaiting trial.

Two of the leaders in custody, Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn, released a statement saying they would join the hunger strike started on Saturday by Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull.

“We also voluntarily renounce food intake as of 8:00 p.m. on Monday,” the men said in a statement.

The men said they were fasting to support Sanchez and Turull’s protest against the failure of Spanish courts to process numerous appeals in relation to their cases. </s> BARCELONA, Spain — A spokeswoman for four jailed Catalan separatist leaders says they are abandoning their hunger strike more than two weeks after starting it because they consider that their protest has achieved its goals.

Speaking on behalf of the politicians, who are awaiting trial for their part in last year’s attempt to secede from Spain, Pilar Calvo said Thursday the strike has drawn attention to the separatists’ plight and prompted Spain’s Constitutional Court to review some of their appeals, which enables them to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Pro-independence activist-turned-politician Jordi Sanchez and former Catalan cabinet member Jordi Turull began their hunger strike on Dec. 1. Ex-regional ministers Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn joined two days later.

The Constitutional Court had said the appeals were following the normal judicial calendar.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> MADRID (Reuters) - Four jailed Catalan separatist leaders, incarcerated since October 2017 ahead of a trial for their involvement in a push by the region for independence, called off a hunger strike on Thursday, their spokeswoman said.

“Today, after 20 days since it began, we are ending our hunger strike,” the spokeswoman Pilar Calvo said reading a statement from the protesters, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez and Joaquim Forn. </s> FILE PHOTO: Catalan politicians Josep Rull (L) and Jordi Turull arrive together to the Supreme Court after being summoned and facing investigation for their part in Catalonia's bid for independence in Madrid, Spain, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera FILE PHOTO: Catalan politicians Josep Rull (L) and Jordi Turull arrive together to the Supreme Court after being summoned and facing investigation for their part in Catalonia's bid for independence in Madrid, Spain, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) – Four jailed Catalan separatist leaders, incarcerated since October 2017 ahead of a trial for their involvement in a push by the region for independence, called off a hunger strike on Thursday, their spokeswoman said.

“Today, after 20 days since it began, we are ending our hunger strike,” the spokeswoman Pilar Calvo said reading a statement from the protesters, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez and Joaquim Forn. </s> Four jailed Catalan separatist leaders are abandoning their hunger strike more than two weeks after starting it because they consider that their protest has achieved its goals, a spokeswoman for the politicians said. They are awaiting trial for their part in last year’s attempt to secede from Spain. The strike has prompted Spain’s Constitutional Court to review some of their appeals, which enables them to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights, spokeswoman Pilar Calvo said on Thursday. Pro-independence activist-turned-politician Jordi Sanchez and former Catalan cabinet member Jordi Turull began their hunger strike on December 1. Ex-regional ministers Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn joined two days later, AP said. According to the Constitutional Court, the appeals are following the “normal judicial calendar.” </s> BARCELONA, Spain — The Latest on Catalan independence activists (all times local):

A lawyer representing former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and five other Catalan politicians who have been charged in Spain for violent rebellion has appealed to the U.N.’s Human Rights Committee to help defend their democratic rights.

Nico Krisch denounced a “grave interference in the democratic order” linked to the charges against Puigdemont, who lives in exile in Belgium, as well as Oriol Junqueras, Raul Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull. The five are being held in pre-trial detention in Spain.

The Catalan politicians have been charged and suspended from office by Spain’s Supreme Court for their roles in organizing an independence referendum in Catalonia 14 months ago.

The effort announced Thursday seeks the Geneva-based committee’s intervention to help ensure their democratic right to exercise their parliamentary mandate.

A spokeswoman for four jailed Catalan separatist leaders says they are abandoning their hunger strike more than two weeks after starting it because they consider that their protest has achieved its goals.

Speaking on behalf of the politicians, who are awaiting trial for their part in last year’s attempt to secede from Spain, Pilar Calvo said Thursday the strike has drawn attention to the separatists’ plight and prompted Spain’s constitutional Court to review some of their appeals, which enables them to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Pro-independence activist-turned-politician Jordi Sanchez and former Catalan cabinet member Jordi Turull began their hunger strike on Dec. 1. Ex-regional ministers Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn joined two days later.

The constitutional Court had said the appeals were following the normal judicial calendar. </s> Two more jailed Catalan separatist leaders awaiting trial for their role in the region's failed bid to secede from Spain joined a hunger strike started two days ago by two of their companions to protest against their treatment by Spanish courts. After Catalonia declared independence last year, Madrid took direct control of the region and brought charges including misuse of public funds and rebellion against Catalan leaders, nine of whom are in jail awaiting trial. Two of the leaders in custody, Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn, released a statement saying they would join the hunger strike started on Saturday by Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull. "We also voluntarily renounce food intake as of 8:00 p.m. on Monday," the men said in a statement. The men said they were fasting to support Sanchez and Turull's protest against the failure of Spanish courts to process numerous appeals in relation to their cases </s> Four of the Catalan leaders facing trial over last year’s failed push for regional independence have gone on a hunger strike, claiming they are being treated unfairly by the Spanish justice system.

On Saturday, Jordi Sànchez, the former head of the powerful grassroots group Catalan National Assembly, and Jordi Turull, a former Catalan government spokesman, announced that they were embarking on the strike at Lledoners prison.

The pair accuse Spain’s constitutional court of deliberately blocking their numerous appeals to prevent their cases progressing to the European Court of Human Rights.

“We ask for an impartial and diligent constitutional court, which should not impede the exercise of our rights,” they said in a statement. “We do not ask the constitutional court for any special treatment. But we do not passively accept any discrimination or unwarranted procrastination.”

On Monday two other imprisoned Catalan leaders – former infrastructure minister Josep Rull and ex-interior minister Joaquim Forn – said they were joining the hunger strike to protest against the constitutional court’s “unjust and arbitrary behaviour”.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that while the hunger strike “was obviously not good news”, the imprisoned leaders were being treated in accordance with the law.

“I think it is important to stress that they will have a fair trial because we live in a society based on the rule of law and the judiciary is independent,” he said over the weekend.

However the Catalan president, Quim Torra, has described the Spanish judicial system’s treatment of the prisoners as “one of the worst outrages seen in Europe” in recent years.

“This dramatic and drastic measure being taken is because of what we find to be the complete violation of citizens’ rights, civil and political rights, and of respect for the legal processes of the Spanish state itself,” he said.

“It’s my view that penal law is being used for vengeance, establishing a makeshift legality in order to attack political dissidence.

Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, the head of the Omnium cultural group, have been in pre-trial detention since October 2017, while the former Catalan vice-president, Oriol Junqueras, has been in custody for more than a year.

The former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who led efforts to secede from Spain, fled the country and is now in Belgium.

At the beginning of November, the attorney general of Spain’s supreme court charged Junqueras and eight ministers and senior officials with rebellion, demanding a 25-year sentence for the former vice-president and up to 17 years for the others.

Tensions in Catalonia are likely to rise again early next year when the trials begin. – Guardian
Carles Puigdemont calls on Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Turull to end the hunger strike they started on 1 December.