SALON

Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 2:34 PM UTC

Over 100 Guantanamo detainees on hunger strike

Prisoners' attorneys claim that inmates refusing food after reported interference with effects including Korans

By

Topics: Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, War on Terror, Hunger Strike, koran, center for constitutional rights,

Over 100 Guantanamo detainees on hunger strike (Credit: AP)

Over 100 detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison camp have reportedly gone on hunger strike following the alleged desecration by guards of personal effects including copies of the Koran. According to reports from detainees’ attorneys, the strike is into its third week.

Pardiss Kebriaei, a lawyer representing Ghaleb Al-Bihani, a Yemeni detainee, told Agence France-Presse, “My client and other men have reported that most of the detainees in Camp 6 are on strike, except for a small few who are elderly or sick.”

Robert Durand, director of public affairs for the Joint Task Force Guantanamo, has however denied claims of a mass hunger strike. He told AFP that although the detainees are refusing to take the meals delivered, they continue to eat food kept in their cell blocks.”Refusing delivered food does not make a detainee a hunger striker, not eating does,” said Durand, noting that nine detainees were engaged in hunger strikes, five of whom were being fed through tubes inserted into their stomachs.

However, 12 detainees’ lawyers are stressing that the strike is more serious and wide spread than Durand claims. Via AFP:

According to Kebriaei, her client — on hunger strike for 30 days — has “lost over 20 pounds and has been told by medical personnel that his health is in serious danger as he is also a diabetic.”

Another lawyer, Barry Wingard, said one of his three clients, Kuwaiti Fayez Al-Kandari, lost 12 kilos (26 pounds) in three and a half weeks. All three were on hunger strike, he added.

Twelve lawyers — including Kebriaei of the Center for Constitutional Rights — have sent a letter to the commander of Guantanamo, Rear Admiral John Smith, to denounce “a matter that appears to be rapidly deteriorating and reaching a potentially critical level.”

“We have received reports of men coughing blood, being hospitalized, losing consciousness, becoming weak and fatigued,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

Guantanamo officials and the attorneys also give divergent accounts of the cause of inmate discontent. The attorneys’ letter notes, “We understand that Arabic interpreters employed by the prison have been searching the men’s Korans in ways that constitute desecration according to their religious beliefs, and that guards have been disrespectful during prayer times.” However, Duran told AFP that “No JTF-Guantanamo guard touches any detainee’s Koran at any time.”

“Durand also said the number of hunger strikers was not exceptional and had been higher in the past,” AFP reported.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) has stated that a debate over the precise scope of the hunger strike misses the point. “Rather than dispute the severity or extent of the hunger-strike, the administration should end the practices that gave rise to the current protest,” CCR said in a statement provided to Truthout. ”It must also take a hard look at the root cause of our clients’ desperation: 11 years of indefinite detention, years of abuse and mistreatment, and broken promise after broken promise by the Obama administration to put an end to this failed experiment.”

The Guantanamo camp in question is Camp 6, where approximately 166 man remain incarcerated. High-profile detainees including Khalid Sheikh Mohamed are held in different areas of the complex.

 

Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 4 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations