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<font size=3><b>Gitmo hunger strikers force-fed by U.S. guards</b> <br>
<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10328" eudora="autourl">
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10328<br><br>
</a><b>Guantanamo hunger strikers are being force-fed in a cruel manner,
the UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said. <br><br>
</b>Nowak told <i>BBC</i> that he received credible reports that some
hunger strikers had had thick pipes inserted through the nose and forced
down into the stomach. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
"If these allegations are true then this definitely amounts to an
additional cruel treatment," he said. <br><br>
Nowak recently rejected an invitation to the detention centre because the
United States refused to give him free access to the detainees there.
<ul>
<li><b>More hunger strikers </b>
</ul><br>
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. <br><br>
The U.S. army said on Thursday that about 84 detainees are now refusing
food. <br><br>
"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 <i>Reuters</i>. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
Also Army spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maker told <i>BBC</i>: "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," <br><br>
Amnesty International official Jumana Musa said this increase in the
number of hunger strikers indicates the seriousness of the situation.
<br><br>
"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.
<ul>
<li><b>"Indefinite" detention </b>
</ul><br>
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."<br><br>
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. <br><br>
The United States is holding more than 500 foreign suspects at Guantanamo
prison. Many have been held for almost three years without a
charge.<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
The U.S. has declared the detainees as illegal enemy combatants who are
not protected by the Geneva Conventions.<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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