Greeting Citizens of the World, We have watched with dismay as a great injustice is being committed by the UNITED … Read More
Gitmo hunger strike growing by the day
As noted here, on Monday military officials put the official number of hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay detention camp at 77 — an increase of 25 inmates since last week. As of Wednesday, the number of strikers officially stands at 92 (over half of Gitmo’s detainees) — and these numbers are considered very conservative by lawyers with the Center for Constitutional Rights representing a number of starving inmates.HuffPo’s Ryan J Reilly, who toured the prison camp last week, reported Wednesday:Continue Reading… … Read More
Guantanamo’s indefensible forced feedings
Guantánamo Bay prisoners have been on a hunger strike for over two months. Some of them have, in that period, been subject to forced feeding by medical staff in the prison. But, a new report that examines the United States government’s recent history of torture and abuse of detainees in the global war on terrorism highlights hunger strikes in the prison camps and recommends that forced feeding come to an end because it is abuse.The report comes from a “Task Force on Detainee Treatment” formed by The Constitution Project, which describes itself as “a national watchdog group that advances bipartisan, consensus based solutions to some of most difficult constitutional challenges of our time.” The co-chair of the “Task Force” was Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who worked in the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush. James R. Jones, who helped President Bill Clinton pass the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was the other co-chair.The Task Force took two years to develop a report on “the past and current treatment of suspected terrorists detained by the US government” during the administrations of President Bill Clinton, President Bush and President Barack Obama.Continue Reading… … Read More
Protesters demand Obama close Guantanamo Bay prison
Rights activists across the United States held a series of protests on Thursday demanding the closure of Guantanamo Bay as a hunger-strike at the jail entered a third month. In a day of action aimed at drawing attention to the plight of prisoners at the facility, demonstrators — many wearing…
Government notifies lawyers of Gitmo force fed hunger strikers
While U.S. military officials continue to downplay the extent of the Guantanamo Bay hunger strike — claimed by attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights to now involve over 100 inmates — the government has started notifying lawyers about which detainees are being forced fed in order to keep them alive. The current hunger strike, which began in early February, was reported orchestrated in response to what detainees call undue intrusions and handling by guards of personal affects, including Korans. The hunger strikers are also protesting “the virtual halt in releases under President Barack Obama,” the AP reported. Detainees’ lawyers have put the strike numbers at 166, while military officials have listed 42 detainees with 11 being force fed. The AP reported Tuesday that while it military protocol not to discuss specific prisoners, lawyers of those being force fed have been notified. Yemeni prisoner Samir Mukbel, one of the hunger strikers being force fed, currently faces no charges and, although cleared for transfer, remains at the prison camp with no known scheduled release date. Via the AP:Continue Reading… … Read More
