NEW YORK, Sep 19 (IPS) – A hunger strike started in June by terror suspects imprisoned by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo) — and reportedly settled — has been restarted and is growing, with 15 detainees hospitalised and 13 being fed through tubes.
The number of hunger strikers varies. The military has said at various times the number is 89 and 76. But a lawyer for a group of detainees says the number is now 200 and growing.
“As far as their reasons for hunger striking, it seems to be a myriad of different reasons that they all have, the largest one seems to be like they want to protest their continued (detention),” said British lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith, who represents 40 detainees, including one of the hunger strikers, British citizen Omar Deghayes.
He added, “Their future is uncertain from a legal point view so they are trying to find out exactly what their future entails.”
FOXNews tells a different story:
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The number of detainees on a hunger strike at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay has fallen by almost two-thirds since last week, a military official said Tuesday.
Forty-five detainees are currently on the hunger strike, down from 131 last week, Guantanamo spokeswoman Lt. Angela King Sweigart said in an e-mail message. Detainees must miss nine straight meals for the military to classify them as being on a hunger strike.
Lawyers for some of the detainees are saying the Pentagon has refused to inform them of their clients’ health status.