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Pardiss Kebriaei the American Senior Staff Attorney at the Center Constitutional Rights focusing on challenging government abuses post-9/11, including in the areas of “targeted killing“ and unjust detentions at Guantanamo has been interviewed by Amy Goodman for Democracy Now in reference to the Guantanamo prisoner hunger strike. In the interview Kebriaei states “…there is a large-scale hunger strike in Camp 6, which is the largest of the facilities at Guantánamo. That prison holds about 130 men. He said that almost everyone, except for a few who are sick and elderly, are on strike. He himself [her client Ghaleb Al-Bihani] had lost over 20 pounds. He is a diabetic. His blood glucose levels are fluctuating wildly. He told me that medical staff at Guantánamo have told him his life is in danger. And he and others want us to get the word out about this. We [at] CCR and group of other habeas counsel, wrote a letter to the authorities at Guantánamo and to the Department of Justice reporting what we have heard and asking for a response. And to date, almost two weeks later, we have not heard anything, other than denials of the strike.  …They have downplayed the scale of the strikes and have said that there are only a handful on strike and only a handful being tube-fed. It may be a matter of semantics: The way that Guantánamo authorities define people on  hunger strike is largely discretionary. But what we have heard from every habeas counsel who has been down to the base or communicated with their clients since February is the same, which is that there is a large-scale strike, men are refusing food. …you start seeing things like loss of vision, loss of hearing, and eventually death. So this is—it’s an emergency situation. We view it as an emergency situation. And denials by the authorities, at this point, of the strike are dangerous and irresponsible.”  Inspired by Amy Goodman & Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now ow.ly/jBcHz Image source CFR ow.ly/jBcGy They downplayed scale of the hunger strikes (April 21 2013)

Pardiss Kebriaei the American Senior Staff Attorney at the Center Constitutional Rights focusing on challenging government abuses post-9/11, including in the areas of “targeted killing“ and unjust detentions at Guantanamo has been interviewed by Amy Goodman for Democracy Now in reference to the Guantanamo prisoner hunger strike. In the interview Kebriaei states “…there is a large-scale hunger strike in Camp 6, which is the largest of the facilities at Guantánamo. That prison holds about 130 men. He said that almost everyone, except for a few who are sick and elderly, are on strike. He himself [her client Ghaleb Al-Bihani] had lost over 20 pounds. He is a diabetic. His blood glucose levels are fluctuating wildly. He told me that medical staff at Guantánamo have told him his life is in danger. And he and others want us to get the word out about this. We [at] CCR and group of other habeas counsel, wrote a letter to the authorities at Guantánamo and to the Department of Justice reporting what we have heard and asking for a response. And to date, almost two weeks later, we have not heard anything, other than denials of the strike.  …They have downplayed the scale of the strikes and have said that there are only a handful on strike and only a handful being tube-fed. It may be a matter of semantics: The way that Guantánamo authorities define people on  hunger strike is largely discretionary. But what we have heard from every habeas counsel who has been down to the base or communicated with their clients since February is the same, which is that there is a large-scale strike, men are refusing food. …you start seeing things like loss of vision, loss of hearing, and eventually death. So this is—it’s an emergency situation. We view it as an emergency situation. And denials by the authorities, at this point, of the strike are dangerous and irresponsible.”

 

Inspired by Amy Goodman & Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now ow.ly/jBcHz Image source CFR ow.ly/jBcGy

Jason Leopold the American investigative reporter, author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller ‘News Junkie - a memoir’ and the current deputy managing editor of Truthout has published an article titled ‘Guantanamo Hunger Strike "Potentially Life-Threatening" Attorneys Allege in Letter to Prison Officials’. Leopold states “…One prisoner who has experienced dramatic weight loss is 37-year-old Fayiz al-Kandari, a Kuwaiti who has been detained at Guantanamo for nearly 11 years. His military attorney, Air Force Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, told Truthout Tuesday that al-Kandari has lost roughly 26 pounds and another Kuwaiti prisoner, Fawzi al-Ohda, 24 pounds since they began hunger striking three weeks ago. Wingard, who is currently at Guantanamo visiting with his client, said neither prisoner has been "tubed yet." Wingard said al-Kandari was "unfocused and had difficulty focusing on our various discussions." On a Facebook page set up for al-Kandari and al-Ohda, 35, a post dated February 28 claimed Guantanamo guards were taunting the hunger strikers. "In response to the hunger strike, soldiers opened containers of food so the smell could fill the prison," the Facebook post alleges. "The prisoners were then asked if they wanted one or two servings of food. The response with a big smile: 'Do you really think the smell of your food is stronger than our religion?'" …"There is a real sense of frustration and desperation beginning to sink in here," Wingard said. "I believe the bigger problem is that the 30- to 40-year-old men have decided not to passively die in animal cages without an opportunity to represent themselves, now well into their twelfth year. For them, any hope of justice has long since faded and death is looking like the only road out of Guantanamo." In January, the State Department shut down the office that was set up to close Guantanamo and repatriate the prisoners who have been cleared for release.”  Inspired by Jason Leopold, Truthout ow.ly/j4lbx Image source Facebook ow.ly/j4lFl Decided not to passively die in animal cages (April 1 2013)

 

Jason Leopold the American investigative reporter, author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller ‘News Junkie – a memoir’ and the current deputy managing editor of Truthout has published an article titled ‘Guantanamo Hunger Strike “Potentially Life-Threatening” Attorneys Allege in Letter to Prison Officials’. Leopold states “…One prisoner who has experienced dramatic weight loss is 37-year-old Fayiz al-Kandari, a Kuwaiti who has been detained at Guantanamo for nearly 11 years. His military attorney, Air Force Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, told Truthout Tuesday that al-Kandari has lost roughly 26 pounds and another Kuwaiti prisoner, Fawzi al-Ohda, 24 pounds since they began hunger striking three weeks ago. Wingard, who is currently at Guantanamo visiting with his client, said neither prisoner has been “tubed yet.” Wingard said al-Kandari was “unfocused and had difficulty focusing on our various discussions.” On a Facebook page set up for al-Kandari and al-Ohda, 35, a post dated February 28 claimed Guantanamo guards were taunting the hunger strikers. “In response to the hunger strike, soldiers opened containers of food so the smell could fill the prison,” the Facebook post alleges. “The prisoners were then asked if they wanted one or two servings of food. The response with a big smile: ‘Do you really think the smell of your food is stronger than our religion?'” …”There is a real sense of frustration and desperation beginning to sink in here,” Wingard said. “I believe the bigger problem is that the 30- to 40-year-old men have decided not to passively die in animal cages without an opportunity to represent themselves, now well into their twelfth year. For them, any hope of justice has long since faded and death is looking like the only road out of Guantanamo.” In January, the State Department shut down the office that was set up to close Guantanamo and repatriate the prisoners who have been cleared for release.”

 

Inspired by Jason Leopold, Truthout ow.ly/j4lbx Image source Facebook ow.ly/j4lFl

Reza Hoda Saber the 52 year old Iranian political activist and leading journalist for an opposition magazine Iran-e Farda, died in the custody of the Iranian prison Evin while on a hunger strike in protest of fellow opposition figure Haleh Sahabi’s death at the hands of security forces while at the funeral of her father. Saber was into his tenth day of a hunger strike when stricken with severe chest pains associated with his heart. Saber’s screams of agony where ignored by prison authorities for six hours before eventually being transferred to hospital for belated surgery to his blocked arteries, dying during the course of the operation. The opposition group Council for the Green Path of Hope condemned the Iranian government for the neglect and Saber’s unlawful detention without charge. Inspired by Radio Zamaneh ow.ly/5hev4 image source Payvand Iran News ow.ly/5hez2 First of all, why was he in prison? (June 15 2011)

Reza Hoda Saber the 52 year old Iranian political activist and leading journalist for an opposition magazine Iran-e Farda, died in the custody of the Iranian prison Evin while on a hunger strike in protest of fellow opposition figure Haleh Sahabi’s death at the hands of security forces while at the funeral of her father. Saber was into his tenth day of a hunger strike when stricken with severe chest pains associated with his heart. Saber’s screams of agony where ignored by prison authorities for six hours before eventually being transferred to hospital for belated surgery to his blocked arteries, dying during the course of the operation. The opposition group Council for the Green Path of Hope condemned the Iranian government for the neglect and Saber’s unlawful detention without charge.

 

Inspired by Radio Zamaneh ow.ly/5hev4 image source Payvand Iran News ow.ly/5hez2

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