Madrid suspects on hunger strike

Officials said 10 defendants had now joined a hunger strike started by four others last Thursday.

Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez ruled out any suspension of the trial, which began in February. It is expected to continue for at least five months.

The bombings killed 191 people and injured more than 1,700.

The alleged masterminds of the bombings are among those on hunger strike: Rabei Osman - known as Mohamed the Egyptian, Youssef Belhadj and Hassan el-Haski.

They are protesting over what they call the unjust accusations against them.

TRIAL IN FIGURES

• 29 men on trial
• Six charged with 191 counts of murder and 1,755 of attempted murder
• One is charged with 192 counts of murder and 1,755 of attempted murder
• They face up to 40,000 years in jail each
• 22 others face lesser terror-linked charges
• About 600 witnesses and 100 experts will give evidence
• The indictment itself is 100,000 pages long

Madrid bombs: Defendants

Twenty-nine people - most of them Moroccan - are on trial over the blasts in the Spanish capital.

Ten bombs hidden in rucksacks were detonated on four rush-hour trains in Madrid in March 2004.

Investigators in Spain have attributed the attacks to a local cell of Islamic extremists inspired by al-Qaeda.

Seven key suspects, including Mr Belhadj and Mr Haski, face charges of murder and belonging to a terrorist group.

Twenty-two others face lesser terror-linked charges including collaborating with a terrorist group and handling explosives. Eleven of them are from Morocco, eight from Spain and one each from Algeria, Syria and Lebanon.