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91 Guantanamo Detainees Refuse Food
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| Lives of thousands of Al Qaeda prisoners are at risk: Amnesty International |
WASHINGTON, March 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Ninety-one detainees from the war in Afghanistan refused breakfast at their prisoner camp in Cuba Sunday on the fifth day of a hunger strike protest, a spokesman said.
The protest at the Guantanamo U.S. military base was triggered Wednesday when a prison guard, enforcing camp security rules, removed an improvised turban made out of bed-sheets from an inmate's cell, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Although the 300 prisoners brought from Afghanistan – presumed members of the Al-Qaeda network or the former ruling Taliban militia – won the right to wear turbans when they pray, the protest continues.
"They are concerned about what is going to happen, and they have no information on their future," said Captain Eric Dent, a spokesman for the camp said in a telephone interview, AFP reported.
"They don't have many ways of showing non-compliance. A hunger strike is one of the few things they can do."
Dent said that none of the prisoners was receiving medical treatment as a result of the hunger strike, which he said was not continuous for each prisoner involved because some would skip lunch but would eat dinner or breakfast. Ninety prisoners declined to eat dinner late Saturday, he said.
None of the detainees are receiving intravenous feeding, he added.
When the protest began on Wednesday 154 detainees refused lunch. The following day the figure rose to 194.
The strike started on Feb. 28, 2002 when more than 100 of Al-Qaeda suspects have launched a hunger strike.
A small number of inmates refused both lunch and dinner Wednesday and 107 of the 300 prisoners declined breakfast last Thursday, said a spokesman, Marine Major Stephen Cox.
Turbans are banned as they may conceal weapons, another military official said.
The detainee had fashioned a turban out of a sheet and was wearing it on his head during prayer, Major Cox said.
Two military guards ordered the prisoner to remove the turban, but the inmate ignored the order.
A translator was called and made the same order, but the inmate still refused.
The two guards shackled the man and then stripped him of his turban, Major Cox said.
"The two guards followed the proper procedures," he said.
At the beginning of February, the Amnesty International has showed concerns over the detainee’s conditions.
In a statement released on the first of February, the amnesty warned that the lives of thousands of prisoners in Afghanistan are at risk because of the conditions, in which they are detained. Visitors to detention facilities are reporting that prisons are dangerously overcrowded and that prisoners lack adequate food and medicine and are not sheltered from severe winter conditions.
Under international law, the U.S. has continuing responsibilities for the welfare of prisoners, who were in U.S. custody before being handed over to another party. Other governments, including Canada and Pakistan, whose forces have detained and handed over prisoners, share these responsibilities.
Amnesty International believes that all fighters, taken captive by or held for any period by U.S. or other international forces in Afghanistan, should be presumed to be prisoners of war (POWs).
The U.S. authorities should immediately investigate reports of inhumane conditions of detention that have been brought to their attention and take urgent steps to ensure compliance with international standards. Prisoners must be provided with adequate food and clothing, clean water and medical care, and be housed in facilities that are not overcrowded and provide adequate protection from the elements, the statement added.
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