Scandal of force-fed Prisoners

[Nancy Waterman]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,16937,1681736,00.html

New details have emerged of how the growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive. They routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp's chief doctor, seen by The Observer.

snip

The London solicitors Allen and Overy, who represent some of the hunger strikers, have lodged a court action to be heard next week in California, where Edmondson is registered to practise. They are asking for an order that the state medical ethics board investigate him for 'unprofessional conduct' for agreeing to the force-feeding.

Edmonson's affidavit, in response to a lawsuit on behalf of detainees on hunger strike since last August, was obtained last week by The Observer, as a Guantánamo spokesman confirmed that the number of hunger strikers has almost doubled since Christmas, to 81 of the 550 detainees. Many have been held since the camp opened four years ago this month, although they not been charged with any crime, nor been allowed to see any evidence justifying their detention.

This and other Guantánamo lawsuits now face extinction. Last week, President Bush signed into law a measure removing detainees' right to file habeas corpus petitions in the US federal courts. On Friday, the administration asked the Supreme Court to make this retroactive, so nullifying about 220 cases in which prisoners have contested the basis of their detention and the legality of pending trials by military commission.

[fooj]

1. This is beyond horrific! OMG!!!

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[bemildred]

2. This helps win "the war on terror" how? nt

[libodem]

3. Wonder if Rush will have t-shirts of that?

It would be kinder to let the just let them starve to death. Can you imagine the depression. I'll bet so many of them don't even have a clue who Osama bin Laden, is. The stupid hijackers were mostly Saudis who'd been living in American society, and paling around on Jack Abramoff's cruise ships, snorting cocaine and boozing it up with strippers. Sounds pretty fundamental-extremist religious, Muslim to me. Actually: sounds like someone was wine-ing and dining and finding flight schools for some guys who's families and support-systems got on FBI supervised flights and left the next day. What a travesty of justice. Any confessions they make about 9/11 will have been signed under torture. How can they be tried on that?

[Judi Lynn]

4. Looks as if their cries for help won't be answered, either.

From the article:

This and other Guantánamo lawsuits now face extinction. Last week, President Bush signed into law a measure removing detainees' right to file habeas corpus petitions in the US federal courts. On Friday, the administration asked the Supreme Court to make this retroactive, so nullifying about 220 cases in which prisoners have contested the basis of their detention and the legality of pending trials by military commission.

Although some prisoners have had to be tied down while being force-fed, 'only one patient' has had to be immobilised with a six-point restraint, and 'only one' passed out. 'In less than 10 cases have trained medical personnel had to use four-point restraint in order to achieve insertion.' Edmondson claims the actual feeding is voluntary. During Ramadan, tube-feeding takes place before dawn.

Article 5 of the 1975 World Medical Association Tokyo Declaration, which US doctors are legally bound to observe through their membership of the American Medical Association, states that doctors must not undertake force-feeding under any circumstances. Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Queen Elizabeth's hospital in Birmingham, is co-ordinating opposition to the Guantánamo doctors' actions from the international medical community. 'If I were to do what Edmondson describes in his statement, I would be referred to the General Medical Council and charged with assault,' he said.
(snip)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have heard, from the first reports of the forced feeding, that the tubes have been slammed into the prisoners, and they have also ripped tubes out of some prisoners and jammed them down others without taking a time out to sterilize the damned things.

It seemed it's their belief that if they make the forced feedings painful enough, the prisoners will give up and get off the hunger strike. This seems very probable, considering the "compassionate" behavior we've seen from the _Bush administration in every other situtation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Video clip of Dancan Hunter's press conference with his description of tasty Guantanamo spa cuisine. How could the hunger strikers have possibly turned this down? Ingrates:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/13.html

[TheBaldyMan]

5. K&R'd n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Are we Nazis yet?

Oh no we're not allowed to say that word. Bush hasn't killed as many people yet.

[SujiwanKenobee]

7. Shades of "Iron-Jawed Angels"?

Wasn't it the force feeding publicity that ultimately led to the turn-around in attitude (toward sufferage)?

[Warren Stupidity]

8. The regime considers itself above the law.

How many more Guantánamos are there? How many are held in our torture chambers? How is this brutality justified? What national security issue demands the force feeding of detainees?

[Nancy Waterman]

9. I have seen this nowhere in the US media

Has this been covered at all? I vaguely remember something a while ago about a hunger strike, but then nothing.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Are they being force fed chicken l'orange

and some of the other tasty meals rush told his listeners about?

[oneighty]

11. Hypocrites

are these medical people at all levels.

180

[0007]

12. More from the above article.

Although some prisoners have had to be tied down while being force-fed, 'only one patient' has had to be immobilised with a six-point restraint, and 'only one' passed out. 'In less than 10 cases have trained medical personnel had to use four-point restraint in order to achieve insertion.' Edmondson claims the actual feeding is voluntary. During Ramadan, tube-feeding takes place before dawn.

Article 5 of the 1975 World Medical Association Tokyo Declaration, which US doctors are legally bound to observe through their membership of the American Medical Association, states that doctors must not undertake force-feeding under any circumstances. Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Queen Elizabeth's hospital in Birmingham, is co-ordinating opposition to the Guantánamo doctors' actions from the international medical community. 'If I were to do what Edmondson describes in his statement, I would be referred to the General Medical Council and charged with assault,' he said.

[Synnical]

13. Kick

Just read about this via Undernews from the Progressive Review.

Thanks for posting.