[Pnews] Guantánamo prisoner launches historic legal challenge to force-feeding abuse

[Prisoner News]

*Guantánamo prisoner launches historic legal challenge to force-feeding 
abuse*

Reprieve US + 1 (917) 855 8064  For Immediate Release: Tues March 11, 2014

A gravely ill Yemeni man will today become the first Guantánamo Bay 
prisoner to have his claims of abuse at the military base considered by 
a US court of law.

Emad Hassan, who has been held without charge since 2002 and cleared for 
release since 2009, has been abusively force-fed more than 5000 times 
since 2007 as part of the military's efforts to break his hunger strike. 
He suffers from serious internal injuries as a result.

Until now, no court has been able to assess the legality of the methods 
used by the military to force-feed detainees at Guantánamo Bay. This 
case presents the first, historic opportunity for this to occur, 
following the federal court of appeals ruling last month recognizing the 
need for such a hearing.

/Imad Abdullah Hasan v Barack Obama/ highlights the increasing brutality 
of the Guantánamo Bay force-feeding process, which the military has 
amended step-by-step to make it so painful that only the most courageous 
peaceful protester can continue. It will be the first case requiring a 
US judge to review a Guantánamo prisoner's detailed testimony describing 
his treatment - and will force the military to respond.

Mr Hassan's legal team argues, with expert support, that force-feeding 
practices at Guantánamo Bay amount to torture.  Among other things, the 
speed at which liquid is forced into  some prisoners is a form of water 
torture that is similar to water-boarding. The legal team cites clear 
evidence that the military practices and protocols have been 
deliberately altered to cause gratuitous pain and suffering in an effort 
to coerce the prisoners to renounce their peaceful protest.

The motion to enjoin the abusive force-feeding will be filed in the DC 
District Court in Monday by Eric Lewis of Lewis Baach, Jon B. Eisenberg 
and Reprieve US.

*Eric Lewis, partner at Lewis Baach pllc and Chair of Reprieve US, said: 
*/"This case marks an historic step in the long battle to bring basic 
rights to the legal black hole at Guantánamo Bay. For over a decade, 
abused prisoners at the US military base have been denied any effective 
legal mechanism to challenge their treatment. This case calls upon US 
judges to restore the most basic rights, medical standards and human 
dignity to these men at Guantánamo Bay." /

*Jon B. Eisenberg, pro bono counsel for Emad Hassan, said: */"After 12 
years of //wrongful imprisonment, Emad and his fellow-hunger strikers 
are protesting peacefully in the only way they can. The punishment 
inflicted on these desperate men is nothing short of torture, and it is 
about time that it is brought to light and judged by a court of law." /

* Emad Hassan said*/: "All I want is what President Obama promised -- my 
liberty, and fair treatment for others. I have been cleared for five 
years, and I have been force-fed for seven years. This is not a life 
worth living, it is a life of constant pain and suffering. While I do 
not want to die, it is surely my right to protest peacefully without 
being degraded and abused every day."/

  ENDS

1. For the *full pleadings in /Imad Abdullah Hasan v Barack Obama/*, 
including declarations from medical experts, please email 
katherine.oshea at reprieve.org. For more information and to arrange 
interviews with the legal team please contact Katherine O'Shea (US) 
katherine.oshea at reprieve.org <mailto:katherine.oshea at reprieve.org> or +1 
917 855 8064 or Donald Campbell (UK/Europe) 
donald.campbell at reprieve.org.uk <mailto:donald.campbell at reprieve.org.uk> 
or +44 207 553 8140.

2. *Imad Abdullah Hussain* is a Yemeni national who has been detained 
at Guantánamo Bay since 2002, and cleared for release since 2009. He had 
travelled to Pakistan in 2001 to attend university, and in February 2012 
he was taken by Pakistani security forces, who handed him to US 
authorities in exchange for a $5,000 bounty payment. He had never been 
to Afghanistan until taken there by the US.

3. *Reprieve US* opened in New York City in February 2014. A partner 
organization to Reprieve UK, Reprieve US will provide advocacy and 
litigation aimed at stopping abuses in the death penalty and in 
counter-terrorism. For information about the work of Reprieve US please 
visit reprieve.org or contact Katherine O'Shea on 
katherine.oshea at reprieve.org <mailto:katherine.oshea at reprieve.org> or +1 
917 855 8064.
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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