Guantanamo force feeding
Encyclopedia
Detainees held in the United States
' Guantanamo Bay detention camps have initiated both individual and widespread hunger strike
s, and camp medical authorities have initiated force-feeding programs.
In 2005, Captain John Edmonson, who was then Naval Base's chief medical officer, asserted that force feeding was a last resort, used only when counseling failed, and when the detainee's body mass index
fell below the healthy range.
According to Edmonson detainees normally cooperated, and restraints were unnecessary.
According to Edmonson detanees were normally only given 1500 Calories per day.
On February 29, 2006, Richard G. Murphy Jr. and other lawyers for detainee Mohammad Bawazir filed a claim that force-feeding was torture
. The lawyers claim that the military made the force-feeding process unnecessary painful and humiliating to break a hunger strike that at one point included more than 100 detainees.
On December 6, 2006, the UN War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague
approved the use of force-feeding of Serbia
n politician Vojislav Šešelj
. They decided it was not "torture, inhuman or degrading treatment if there is a medical necessity to do so...and if the manner in which the detainee is force-fed is not inhuman or degrading".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' Guantanamo Bay detention camps have initiated both individual and widespread hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
s, and camp medical authorities have initiated force-feeding programs.
In 2005, Captain John Edmonson, who was then Naval Base's chief medical officer, asserted that force feeding was a last resort, used only when counseling failed, and when the detainee's body mass index
Body mass index
The body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a heuristic proxy for human body fat based on an individual's weight and height. BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing...
fell below the healthy range.
According to Edmonson detainees normally cooperated, and restraints were unnecessary.
According to Edmonson detanees were normally only given 1500 Calories per day.
On February 29, 2006, Richard G. Murphy Jr. and other lawyers for detainee Mohammad Bawazir filed a claim that force-feeding was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. The lawyers claim that the military made the force-feeding process unnecessary painful and humiliating to break a hunger strike that at one point included more than 100 detainees.
On December 6, 2006, the UN War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
approved the use of force-feeding of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n politician Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
. They decided it was not "torture, inhuman or degrading treatment if there is a medical necessity to do so...and if the manner in which the detainee is force-fed is not inhuman or degrading".
External links
- Force-Feeding at Guantánamo Is Now Acknowledged
- Scandal of force-fed prisoners
- Doctors accuse US of 'unethical practices' at Guantanamo Bay
- Guantanamo Force-Feeding Tactics Are Called Torture
- At Guantanamo, Dying Is Not Permitted
- Former Gitmo guard speaks of inmate 'torture'
- Sami al-Haj’s Guantánamo torture pictures
- Guantanamo man tells of 'torture'
- Doctors attack US over Guantanamo
- Guantanamo force feeding is unnecessary
- Torture In Guantánamo: The Force-feeding Of Hunger Strikers
- Yemeni Gitmo Detainees Continue Hunger Strike Despite Forced Feeding
- Take Action to End Torture and Hold Health Professionals Accountable
- Ramadan at Guantanamo Bay includes nightly force-feedings
- Waste wars: Captives ‘weaponize’ bodily fluids