Guantanamo detainee appeals to change force-feedings rules

Lawyers for Syrian Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab argue the U.S. government's force-feeding measures are punitive and do not constitute medical care. They seek to reform force-feedings with fewer restraints and to leave feeding tubes in for longer. His lawyers argued Oct. 17 that his feeding is akin to torture.

Dhiab launched an appeal Nov. 10 against a Nov. 7 ruling by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler that disallowed any changes to force feeding procedures. She ruled his restraints would remain and the feeding tube would continue to be removed and inserted for safety. She called him "sick, depressed, and desperate."

Dozens of inmates began a hunger strike in 2013, saying it was the only way to publicize that they have been imprisoned for up to 10 years without charges or trials.

The Justice Dept. asked an appeals court to block the release of 32 videos showing force feedings, reports Dec. 3 said. A judge had already approved to delay their release. The government says they are a matter of national security. A rights group likened them to "major moments of US history" changed by an image.

A federal judge on Oct. 3 rejected a Dept. of Justice request to keep the public from attending the first hearing of Dhiab's challenge. Dhiab has been detained at Guantanamo without charge since 2002, and was cleared for release in 2009. He is among inmates approved for transfer to Uruguay.

Declassified interviews with detainees published by the Guardian Oct. 2013 showed the U.S. military has used tactics to break the resolve of hunger strikers, including solitary confinement, sleep disruption and changing the temperature in cells.