Guantanamo hunger strikers on rise, conditions worsening: US
Iran Press TV
Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:47PM GMT
The number of hunger-striking prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay prison complex in Cuba has increased and their conditions have worsened, says the US military.
Seven prisoners joined the hunger strike on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 52 hunger-striking detainees at the US detention facility, a report by the Associated Press quoted US military officials as saying.
Navy Captain Robert Durand added that 15 detainees are being force-fed to prevent dangerous weight loss, while three others have been hospitalized.
Meanwhile, lawyers of the prisoners said the majority of the 166 inmates held at the notorious prison camp have stopped eating.
The figures came after US military guards clashed with hunger striking prisoners over the weekend, as military forces were attempting to move the inmates out of a communal section of the prison and into solitary confinement.
On February 6, Guantanamo hunger strikers stopped eating to protest their indefinite imprisonment without charges. They are also demanding an end to the intrusive search of their cells and personal belongings.
In the summer of 2005, a previous mass hunger strike involved many of the prisoners but the protest dwindled after the military began tying people down and force-feeding them liquid nutrients through tubes to prevent them from starving to death.
GMA/SS
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