[News] Gitmo hunger strikers force-fed by U.S. guards

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Gitmo hunger strikers force-fed by U.S. guards
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10328

Guantanamo hunger strikers are being force-fed in a cruel manner, the 
UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said.

Nowak told BBC that he received credible reports that some hunger 
strikers had had thick pipes inserted through the nose and forced 
down into the stomach.

This was done in a cruel way, sometimes by prison guards rather than 
doctors, he said. As a result, some detainees had reported bleeding 
and vomiting.

"If these allegations are true then this definitely amounts to an 
additional cruel treatment," he said.

Nowak recently rejected an invitation to the detention centre because 
the United States refused to give him free access to the detainees there.
    * More hunger strikers

The accusations came after it emerged that the number of prisoners 
taking part in a hunger strike that started almost five months ago 
has more than doubled since December 25.

The U.S. army said on Thursday that about 84 detainees are now refusing food.

"There's been a significant increase in the number that have been 
added to the hunger strike," Army Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin, a military 
spokesman, told Reuters.

Although Lt. Col. Martin admitted that medical personnel were 
force-feeding 32 of the hunger strikers, he denied that the detainees 
were treated in an inappropriate manner.

Also Army spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maker told BBC: "To suppose that 
these people are being left bleeding - I know of no instance of that, 
there's been no reports of that, there's been no credible evidence 
produced by any investigation of that fact,"

Amnesty International official Jumana Musa said this increase in the 
number of hunger strikers indicates the seriousness of the situation.

"You are talking about a prison population of hundreds who have 
decided that with no conceivable change in their future that they 
just don't care to live anymore, or they are going to make a 
statement in dying." she said.
    * "Indefinite" detention

The U.S. army defined a hunger strike as refusing nine consecutive 
meals and often refer to the strike as a "voluntary fast" and 
force-feeding as "enteral feeding."

The detainees launched the hunger strike in early August to  protest 
against their "indefinite" detention and "inhumane" treatment. Their 
lawyers say that they are willing to starve to death to demand a fair 
hearing on whether they must stay.

The United States is holding more than 500 foreign suspects at 
Guantanamo prison. Many have been held for almost three years without a charge.

Human rights activists have sharply criticized the U.S. for 
conditions at Guantanamo. They say that policy decisions made at top 
levels of the U.S. government have led to widespread prisoner abuse 
by American soldiers.

The U.S. has declared the detainees as illegal enemy combatants who 
are not protected by the Geneva Conventions.

Human rights groups and several EU states have said that "enemy 
combatants" is a term not recognized by international law, and that 
prisoners should be granted the rights of prisoners of wars.


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20060102/322dd2d3/attachment.htm>