Guantanamo strikers' force-feeding adapted to RamadanBy Jane Sutton 28 minutes ago
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE (Reuters) - U.S. medical officers
at the Guantanamo Bay detention center adjusted the force-feeding
schedule for two long-time hunger strikers so they could fast during
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, doctors at the U.S. navy base said.
The pair of foreign terrorism suspects have refused food for more than
a year in order to protest their indefinite detention without charge
at the controversial U.S. prison, which holds more than 400 al Qaeda
and Taliban suspects.
To prevent them from dying, the U.S. military had been force-feeding
them with liquid nutrients administered twice a day via tubes inserted
into their nostrils and down into their stomachs, doctors at the detainee
hospital told journalists.
But the schedule was adjusted during Ramadan so the prisoners could
participate in the just-ended, month long fast, during which devout
Muslims abstain from food during daylight hours. The first feeding was
conducted before sunrise and the second was delayed until after sunset.
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