Gitmo hunger strike unsettling senior US commanders News
Gitmo hunger strike unsettling senior US commanders

[JURIST] Widespread hunger strikes at the US military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] are troubling senior US commanders and presenting serious challenges in managing the detainees, the New York Times reported Sunday. As many as 200 detainees or more than 1/3 of the camp's population, have refused food recently to protest prison conditions and their extended detention without trial. Military officials acknowledge that 20 inmates have required feeding through nasal tubes and intravenous lines, but Kristine Huskey, a lawyer who visited Gitmo last week, says the hunger strike is "far more widespread than the government is letting on." An anonymous senior military official told the Times that the situation is greatly troublesome for the camp's authorities and said they have tried repeatedly to end the strike without success. The New York Times has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase…

THIS DAY @ LAW

Sirhan convicted of assassinating RFK

On April 17, 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to life in prison after the Supreme Court of California overturned the death penalty in the state.

Canadian constitution patriated with bill of rights

On April 17, 1982, the Constitution Act 1982 was proclaimed in Ottawa, establishing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and terminating the British Parliament's power to amend the Canadian constitution.

More This Day @ Law... ▸