Kevin Mathews
We’ve been following the Guantanamo Bay prisoner hunger strikes for some time now, but the situation has inexplicably not improved. In fact, things have gotten so terrible that one of the nurses assigned to administer the force-feedings has declined to participate anymore.
The news comes from Abu Wa’el Dhiab, a man who has been detained at Guantanamo since 2002. Though officially cleared for release five years ago, Dhiab is still inexplicably being held against his will. He, along with many others who are no longer suspected of having terrorism ties, has gone on a hunger strike to protest their treatment and lack of due process. Rather than clearing the issue up, however, the U.S. has decided to force-feed the not-criminal prisoners instead.
Thus far, details on the disobedient nurse are limited. Although the nurse is believed to be a Navy medical officer, his name has not been publicized. However, an American official has confirmed that the story is legitimate. A Pentagon spokesperson acknowledged that an employee declined to perform this specific feeding task, so he was reassigned to other duties and someone else was ordered to do the feeding instead. Good to know that forced feedings are running on schedule without interruption!