Judge tells Obama to ‘directly address’ force-feedings at Guantánamo Bay

A federal judge on Monday denied a request from Guantánamo
Bay detainees to stop force-feeding at the prison, but urged
President Obama to do something about the issue.

Judge Gladys Kessler denied the detainee’s request for an injunction to stop
the force-feedings at Guantánamo, citing the court’s lack of jurisdiction.

In her decision, the judge noted that the practice seemed to violate
international law and that the president could do something to
“directly address” the force-feedings.

“Even though this Court is obligated to dismiss the
Application for lack of jurisdiction, and therefore lacks any authority to rule
on Petitioner’s request, there is an individual who does have the authority to
address the issue,” Kessler wrote in a four-page decision.

{mosads}“The President of the United States, as Commander-in-Chief,
has the authority — and power — to directly address the issue of force-feeding
of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.”

Kessler wrote that it was “perfectly clear” from the
statements of the detainees and several medical and human rights group that
“force-feeding is a painful, humiliating, and degrading process.”

Kessler also suggested the plaintiff’s argument showed a
consensus that the practice violates international law that “prohibits torture
or cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.”

Currently more than 100 of the 166 detainees at Guantánamo
Bay are taking part in a hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention at
the prison. Of those, more than 40 are now being force-fed by a tube
inserted through the nose.

The practice has been widely criticized — including by
Obama, whose speech was quoted in Kessler’s decision.

“Look at the current situation, where we are force-feeding
detainees who are holding a hunger strike. … Is that who we are? Is that something that our founders foresaw? Is that the America we want to leave to
our children? Our sense of justice is stronger than that,” Kessler quoted from
Obama’s May speech where he vowed once again to close the prison.

The Pentagon, which runs Guantánamo, has defended the force-feedings, arguing that
the detainees are properly cared for by medical personnel. During the month of
Ramadan, the force-feedings will only occur after sundown and before sunrise for those observing
the holiday.

The practice has also been criticized by Senate Democrats, including
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who wrote to the Pentagon last month asking for a re-evaluation of the policy.