http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/articles/11mtrial290507 Comments for ""Iraq and Afghanistan don't matter to us", Luisa Barrenechea " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/articles/11mtrial290507 <p>The proceedings of the Madrid bombing trial have been marked in recent weeks by the unexpected hunger strike of fourteen of the defendants, in protest against what they perceived as the presumption of guilt thrust upon them by the media and politicians. Lawyers for the striking men expressed disgust at the conduct of the trial. Their clients, &quot;who continue to condemn the bombings,&quot; have &quot;lost faith&quot; in the Spanish judicial system. Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez maintained a firm line, insisting that the trial would carry on and not be suspended. The <a href="http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/05/madrid-train-bombings-suspects-end.php"><strong>strike</strong></a> ended on 21 May after eleven days, when the strikers conceded that their act of defiance may be misinterpreted by the Spanish public. They issued an official statement pleading that the trial be &quot;extracted from the political arena&quot; and that the media afford them the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.<span class="pullquote_new">Luisa Barrenechea is a lawyer and researcher of European counter-terrorism at<a href="/madrid11/madrid_trial_esp_060707" target="_blank"> FRIDE</a> in Madrid.</span> </p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/articles/11mtrial290507" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/articles/11mtrial290507">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/articles/11mtrial290507#comment 11-M trial Creative Commons normal democratic society Luisa Barrenechea rule of law terrorism Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 +0100 KVB Tharoor 33960 at http://www.opendemocracy.net