SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Judge: US Must Force-Feed Guantanamo Detainee
District judge says forced to choose between inmate's life and 'great pain and suffering'
May 24, 2014
The U.S. 'must' force-feed a hunger striking Guantanamo detainee, according to a U.S. federal judge who late Thursday night lifted a temporary restraining order against performing the process--widely considered a form of torture--on Syrian inmate Abu Wa'el Dhiab.
District judge Gladys Kessler said the decision was made because of the "very real probability" that Dhiab, who continues to be held at the detention facility despite having been cleared for release in 2009, might die.
While issuing the decision, Kessler slammed the Department of Defense for inflicting what she described as "unnecessary pain" on those being held--both through force-feeding and the practice of "Forcible Cell Extractions," which Kessler halted in a ruling last week.
"The Court is now faced with an anguishing Hobson's choice," said Kessler. "Reissue another Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") despite the very real probability that Mr. Dhiab will die, because he has indicated a continuing desire to refuse to eat and/or drink liquids, or refuse to issue the TRO and allow the medical personnel on the scene to take the medical actions to keep Mr Dhiab alive, but at the possible cost of great pain and suffering."
The judge added: "Thanks to the intransigence of the Department of Defense, Mr Dhiab may well suffer unnecessary pain from certain enteral feeding practices and forcible cell extractions. However, the Court simply cannot let Mr Dhiab die."
According to UK-based human rights group Reprieve, during the Thursday hearing Kessler also indicated that on Saturday she will issue an order for the "speedy exchange of discovery" of the tapes documenting Dhiab's force-feeding, as well as other evidence, "in order to ensure that any suffering by Mr. Dhiab is not prolonged."
On Wednesday, according to the Guardian, Kessler had "brushed aside" objections by the Justice Department and ordered the government to produce 34 video tapes documenting the forcible removal of Dhiab from his cell as well as the inmate being force-fed.
_____________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
The U.S. 'must' force-feed a hunger striking Guantanamo detainee, according to a U.S. federal judge who late Thursday night lifted a temporary restraining order against performing the process--widely considered a form of torture--on Syrian inmate Abu Wa'el Dhiab.
District judge Gladys Kessler said the decision was made because of the "very real probability" that Dhiab, who continues to be held at the detention facility despite having been cleared for release in 2009, might die.
While issuing the decision, Kessler slammed the Department of Defense for inflicting what she described as "unnecessary pain" on those being held--both through force-feeding and the practice of "Forcible Cell Extractions," which Kessler halted in a ruling last week.
"The Court is now faced with an anguishing Hobson's choice," said Kessler. "Reissue another Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") despite the very real probability that Mr. Dhiab will die, because he has indicated a continuing desire to refuse to eat and/or drink liquids, or refuse to issue the TRO and allow the medical personnel on the scene to take the medical actions to keep Mr Dhiab alive, but at the possible cost of great pain and suffering."
The judge added: "Thanks to the intransigence of the Department of Defense, Mr Dhiab may well suffer unnecessary pain from certain enteral feeding practices and forcible cell extractions. However, the Court simply cannot let Mr Dhiab die."
According to UK-based human rights group Reprieve, during the Thursday hearing Kessler also indicated that on Saturday she will issue an order for the "speedy exchange of discovery" of the tapes documenting Dhiab's force-feeding, as well as other evidence, "in order to ensure that any suffering by Mr. Dhiab is not prolonged."
On Wednesday, according to the Guardian, Kessler had "brushed aside" objections by the Justice Department and ordered the government to produce 34 video tapes documenting the forcible removal of Dhiab from his cell as well as the inmate being force-fed.
_____________________
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
The U.S. 'must' force-feed a hunger striking Guantanamo detainee, according to a U.S. federal judge who late Thursday night lifted a temporary restraining order against performing the process--widely considered a form of torture--on Syrian inmate Abu Wa'el Dhiab.
District judge Gladys Kessler said the decision was made because of the "very real probability" that Dhiab, who continues to be held at the detention facility despite having been cleared for release in 2009, might die.
While issuing the decision, Kessler slammed the Department of Defense for inflicting what she described as "unnecessary pain" on those being held--both through force-feeding and the practice of "Forcible Cell Extractions," which Kessler halted in a ruling last week.
"The Court is now faced with an anguishing Hobson's choice," said Kessler. "Reissue another Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") despite the very real probability that Mr. Dhiab will die, because he has indicated a continuing desire to refuse to eat and/or drink liquids, or refuse to issue the TRO and allow the medical personnel on the scene to take the medical actions to keep Mr Dhiab alive, but at the possible cost of great pain and suffering."
The judge added: "Thanks to the intransigence of the Department of Defense, Mr Dhiab may well suffer unnecessary pain from certain enteral feeding practices and forcible cell extractions. However, the Court simply cannot let Mr Dhiab die."
According to UK-based human rights group Reprieve, during the Thursday hearing Kessler also indicated that on Saturday she will issue an order for the "speedy exchange of discovery" of the tapes documenting Dhiab's force-feeding, as well as other evidence, "in order to ensure that any suffering by Mr. Dhiab is not prolonged."
On Wednesday, according to the Guardian, Kessler had "brushed aside" objections by the Justice Department and ordered the government to produce 34 video tapes documenting the forcible removal of Dhiab from his cell as well as the inmate being force-fed.
_____________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.