Tag Archives: Navy Capt

US says Guantanamo hunger strike on the rise

Days after a violent clash between guards and prisoners, the U.S. military says a hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay is on the rise.

A military spokesman says 52 prisoners have been classified as hunger strikers as of Wednesday. That’s up from 45 a day earlier. Navy Capt. Robert Durand says 15 prisoners are being force-fed to prevent dangerous weight loss and three have been hospitalized.

Prisoners have been on strike since early February to protest conditions and their indefinite confinement at the U.S. base in Cuba. The U.S. holds 166 men at the prison, most without charge.

Guards raided a section of the prison Saturday to move prisoners from a communal holding area into single cells after the men covered security cameras. The military feared some might commit suicide.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/p5VQj1TnrKQ/

New details revealed on Guantanamo prison clash

The top medical official at the Guantanamo Bay prison says five detainees were injured in the weekend clash with guards.

Navy Capt. Richard Stoltz says none of the injuries were major. Stoltz says one prisoner was struck with rubber pellets from what the military calls a “less-than-lethal” round. Another cut his head in what officials said was a self-inflicted wound. Three others were scraped when guards herded them out of a communal section and into single cells.

Officials say two guards were struck in the head by prisoners but both have since returned to work.

Guantanamo Bay officials met with journalists Tuesday to give a detailed account of the incident. They said the raid was necessary because prisoners covered up security cameras during an ongoing hunger strike.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/splrKk5ym40/

Guantanamo Bay prison to get new commander

A new commander has been named to lead the Guantanamo Bay prison amid a hunger strike that has dragged on for more than two months.

The Pentagon says Rear Adm. Richard W. Butler will be the next commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo after serving at the Air Warfare Division in Washington.

Butler replaces Rear Adm. John W. Smith, who will move to the National Defense University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Navy Capt. Robert Durand says the change is part of a normal rotation in which the prison commander serves for about a year.

The prison at the U.S. base in Cuba holds 166 detainees. The military says that as of Friday, 43 were on hunger strike to protest their confinement. Lawyers for the men say the figure is higher.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/f6u9H_97q0Q/

Lawyers alarmed as Guantanamo hunger strike grows

Lawyers for prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay say they are growing increasingly alarmed about the men’s health as a hunger strike expands at the U.S. prison in Cuba.

Attorney Carlos Warner met with a prisoner from Kuwait this week and says the man appears to have lost 25 pounds. He said 35-year-old Faez al-Kandari was pale and could barely stand. Several other attorneys have reported similar accounts after meeting or speaking with prisoners in recent days.

A prison spokesman says military doctors are closely monitoring the men’s weight and health. Navy Capt. Robert Durand also says the strike has grown to 26 prisoners, up by five since Monday.

Lawyers for the prisoners say many more are on strike in a protest over conditions at the prison and their indefinite detention.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

US says hunger strike grows to 21 at Guantanamo

A Guantanamo Bay prison spokesman says 21 men are on hunger strike in a widening protest at the U.S. base in Cuba.

Navy Capt. Robert Durand says eight men are being fed with a liquid nutrient mix to prevent dangerous weight loss. Two men are at the prison hospital being treated for dehydration. The military says none are in immediate danger from the strike.

Lawyers for prisoners say the men are protesting their indefinite confinement and what they consider intrusive searches of their Qurans.

Durand said previously that only a handful of prisoners met the military definition of hunger strike, which includes missing nine consecutive meals. The number grew to 14 on Friday and reached 21 on Monday. Lawyers say the strike is more widespread than the military acknowledges.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

US confirms 'non-lethal force' incident at Gitmo

A spokesman for the Guantanamo Bay prison says guards used what he called “non-lethal force” to quell a disturbance in a recreation yard.

Navy Capt. Robert Durand won’t say what measures were employed. And he won’t confirm a lawyer’s report that a guard fired a shot at a prisoner, possibly using some type of non-lethal projectile such as a rubber bullet.

The incident occurred Jan. 2 but the military only disclosed it this week after attorney Clive Stafford Smith sent a letter to the camp commander calling for an investigation.

Durand said Wednesday no detainees were injured and a review by officials found guards followed procedures.

Smith says an Afghan prisoner was injured in the throat, either struck by the projectile or from a ricochet.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News