Guantanamo Prisoners on Hunger Strike are Force Fed by Guards
March 21, 2013 | Filed under: Americas,Human Rights,JG Vibes | Posted by: JGVibes
By JG Vibes
Intellihub.com
March 21, 2013
Over the years the military dungeons at Guantanamo Bay have become largely forgotten by the general population back home in the US. Since the election of Barack Obama many of the people who protest wars and the inhumane acts of the military industrial complex are now silent as if nothing has ever happened.
Obama’s supporters have failed to even call him out for breaking a promise to close Guantanamo. In fact, many of them actually believe that he did close it, simply taking a politicians word at face value without even doing the research. This same fallacy has led many to believe that the war in Iraq is over, and that the US governments pillaging of the Middle East and Africa is winding down.
Hoping to raise awareness about the mistreatment and wrongful imprisonment at Guantanamo bay, some of the prisoners there are taking part in a hunger strike.
Reuters reported that:
“About 24 Guantanamo prisoners involved in a hunger strike that began six weeks ago are upset by the U.S. government’s failure to close the detention camp and hope to gain publicity for their plight. The prison has 166 inmates. Nearly all have been held for 11 years without charge, and about half have been cleared for transfer or release. Many are Yemenis who the United States will not repatriate at this time because of instability in that country.
More than 50 lawyers representing the prisoners sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week urging him to help end the hunger strike, which they said began on February 6 to protest the confiscation of letters, photographs and legal mail, and the rough handling of Korans during searches of their cells. They said the participants’ health had deteriorated alarmingly, and that some had lost more than 20 or 30 pounds (9 to 14 kilograms). Kelly said the prisoners who spoke to Guantanamo staff cited other reasons for the strike.”
What is even more disturbing is that guards will
further torture the prisoners by force feeding them, a practice that was condemned by more that 250 doctors from the UK, the US, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Italy and the Netherlands.
http://intellihub.com/2013/03/21/guantanamo-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-are-force-fed-by-guards/