Sunday, November 06, 2005
Justice for Guantanamo Detainees: End torture of the hunger strikers--Demonstration at the Justice Department
In July 2005, prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military detention center for so-called terrorist detainees began a hunger strike. Since that time, over half of the detainees have participated in the hunger strike. As of September 1, 2005, almost a hundred and fifty detainees were participating in the strike, some who stopped eating, and others stopped eating and drinking.
Some of these prisoners have been force fed in a cruel and unusual manner. It is not that these prisoners are not afforded the same civil rights we in the US are supposed to have. It is that the way they are force-fed is torturous. Large tubes, the thickness of a finger, were forcibly shoved up the nose and down into the stomach, with no anesthesia provided for this procedure. Some detainees would vomit up blood, while shackled from head to toe, and taunted by their keepers.
On Tuesday, November 2nd, there was a demonstration in front of the U.S. Justice Department at 8th and Pennsylvania, NW in support of the fasting detainees of Guantanamo. Victims of torture spoke, along with ministers, an imam, and a rabbi. The demonstration was initiated by the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is working hard for justice and an end of torture for the detainees in Guantanamo Bay. More information about their cases and the extended hunger strike can be found at www.ccr-ny.org.
Article by Nagosh Naito (c)2005 all rights reserved
