[JURIST] The last remaining British Guantanamo detainee is on a hunger strike, the Daily Mail reported [text] Saturday. Shaker Aamer told the Daily Mail via his lawyer that he is still subject to physical abuse despite reports that he will be released [JURIST report] sometime month. Aamer was captured in 2001 and has been held in Guantanamo since 2002. He was held for his alleged al Qaeda ties but has maintained his innocence and was never charged with any crime.

Earlier this month, a judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the release [JURIST report] of eight videos depicting force feeding at Guantanamo as part of Abu Wa’el Dhiab’s suit against the federal government. At the beginning of September White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama is considering a “wide array” [JURIST report] of options for closing the prison. While Earnest said that Congressional consent would be the best means to shut the facility down, he would not rule out executive action as a last resort. The Guantanamo Bay prison [JURIST backgrounder] was set up in 2002 by the Bush administration as a facility to hold the most dangerous war criminals. At its peak in 2003, the prison had a population of 684 inmates. When Obama took office in 2008, one of his first stated objectives was to close the facility, but he has faced considerable opposition in achieving that goal. On July 1, US Secretary of State John Kerry appointed [JURIST report] Lee Wolowsky to effectuate the closure of Guantanamo Bay.