Guantánamo hunger strikers make up half of inmate population, officials say

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Matt Williams in New York
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 21 April 2013 18.13 BST

More than half of the remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay are now on a hunger strike, US military officials confirmed Sunday.

Of the 166 inmates at the controversial detention camp in Cuba, 84 are refusing all food as a protest against their indefinite confinement and conditions at the centre.

The figure is almost double the number previously released by officials, although inmates and their lawyers have long suggested that a majority of inmates were taking part.

Amongst those refusing food is Shaker Aamer, who has spent 11 years at Guantánamo. He remains behind bars despite being cleared for release six years ago.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/21/guantanamo-bay-hunger-strike-half-inmates

[Sunlei]

1. If they are 'cleared for release' why doesn't their home country want them back?

[cstanleytech]

2. One possibility I guess is that the US could be

asking some of the countries to decline taking them back in order to pretend to be willing to release them if only some country will take them in but as for what other reasons?

[delrem]

3. Considering the countries involved, that's the most likely reason.

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. This ongoing stain on our reputation deserves a kick.