ETA hunger striker close to death after removing tube

The Independent
By Elizabeth Nash in Madrid
26 February 2007

An Eta prisoner on hunger strike in Madrid for more than three months
faces imminent death after removing the nasal tube through which he
was forcibly fed, and is now "taking no nutrients whatever", Spain's
prison service said.

Inaki de Juana Chaos, who has served 19 years for killing 25 people,
began his hunger strike last November in protest against a further
three years imposed for publishing threats in a newspaper. He was
transferred two weeks later to a secure hospital bed, and is reported
to be gravely ill.

Recent photographs of a skeletal De Juana strapped to his bed have
polarised public opinion and convulsed Spain's political class,
already shaken by the Basque separatists' bombing of Madrid airport
in December.

De Juana's extreme action, taken on Friday in an apparent fit of
anger, presents prison authorities - who are legally bound to keep
him alive - with a dilemma. Until now they have strapped him down for
only 12-hour sessions while administering the feeding tube.

They may now have to bind him round-the-clock to stop him ripping out
the tube, aggressive treatment of a weakened man that could threaten
his life. De Juana could soon qualify for parole but says he will
continue his hunger strike until he is freed. Tens of thousands
protested in Madrid on Saturday to demand he serve his full term.