Several more detainees at the United States’ infamous Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba are staging a hunger strike to protest disrespect of the Qur’an and confiscation of personal items.
A US military spokesman said on Tuesday that 84 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay are on hunger strike.
However, the detainees’ lawyers dispute the number. They say nearly all of the 166 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are refusing to eat. They also say many are being force-fed to prevent dangerous weight loss.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has increased its visits to Guantanamo, raising concerns about the health of the hunger strikers.
The lawyers also said the lack of drinkable water had led to medical conditions affecting the kidneys, urinary system, and the stomach of the prisoners on strike.
Rights activists accuse jail authorities of seeking to downplay the extent of the situation inside the prison.
The hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay began on February 6 as a protest against the inmates’ indefinite detention without charge as well as the intrusive searches of their cells.
The inmates have been kept at Guantanamo without charge since early 2000s.
A mass hunger strike involved many of the prisoners in the summer of 2005 but the protest dwindled after the military began tying people down and force-feeding them liquid nutrients through tubes to prevent them from starving to death.