Catalan pro-independence leaders Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Turull say they are "strong and determined" in the second day of the hunger strike that they began on Saturday. "Your support gives us the strength we need to keep going", say the two political prisoners in a short message published on their respective Twitter accounts.
The tweet sent by the two jailed Catalan MPs also conveys their gratitude for all the shows of support they have received following the decision made public yesterday to undertake the hunger strike, intended as a protest against the Spanish Constitutional Court's blockage of their appeals which prevents them from seeking redress from European justice.
Translation:
2nd day of hunger strike.We are strong and determined. Your support gives us the strength we need to keep going. Thank you... we'll never be able to thank you enough for all that you are doing for us. Light in your eyes and strength in your arm!
The tweets sent by the two men differ in just one aspect: their endings, where each of the pair has opted for a different phrase: Turull ends by saying: "My body in prison, my heart in Catalonia," while Sànchez opts for the phrase "Light in your eyes and strength in your arm!", an expression which has already become something of a trademark in his messages from prison. He also includes an image of a glass of water, half-full. Earlier, in an interview with El Nacional on Saturday, Sànchez had spoken of his attitude of realism, but not fear, towards what might lie ahead: "It is not a matter of fear. I have never embarked on a hunger strike and you don't know what you might find there."
The two Catalan independence leaders finish their tweets linking to the website that has been created to collect signatures of support for their initiative, which at 6pm on Sunday had received the backing of more than 170,000 people.
On Saturday, several dozen people spent the night outside Lledoners prison to show their support for the two men and this Sunday morning about a hundred people blocked traffic in Barcelona's Via Laietana in solidarity with the hunger strike.