Posted on 07/21/2005 11:04:47 AM PDT by kristinn
WASHINGTON -- Some 50 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have declared they are on a hunger strike, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.
They went on strike three days ago, spokesman Bryan Whitman said. Some have already begun eating again, he said. The spokesman said he did not know why they went on strike and said the health of the striking detainees is being monitored.
The Pentagon's version of this incident contrasted somewhat from the accounts of two Afghans released from the facility for terrorist suspects earlier this week. On Wednesday, they claimed that more than about 180 Afghans were on a hunger strike to protest alleged mistreatment at the facility at a U.S. military base in Cuba.
Habir Russol and Moheb Ullah Borekzai, who said they left the prison camp on Cuba on Monday and were flown to Afghanistan before being freed, said they did not participate in the hunger strike.
SNIP
Borekzai later told The Associated Press the detainees were protesting because "some of these people say they were mistreated during interrogation. Some say they are innocent."
"They are protesting that they have been in jail nearly four years and they want to be released," he said.
SNIP
The Pentagon also announced Wednesday that seven Guantanamo detainees had been released and an eighth transferred to the custody a foreign government. In addition to the two released Afghans, three Saudi Arabians, a Jordanian and a Sudanese were freed, it said.
SNIP In addition, a Moroccan was transferred to control of the government of Spain, U.S. officials said. The Pentagon did not identify the detainees. The Moroccan was identified earlier this week in Spain as Lahcen Ikassrien, who had been charged there for his links to an al-Qaida cell.
The transfers leave about 510 prisoners at Guantanamo.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Kewl. Saves the taxpayers a few bucks.
Don't tell me, they set the AC at 78 degress instead of 72.
You mean we're feeding them ? I thought we were torturing them...
start barbecueing pork chops, ribs, and pulled-pork upwind of their cells.
Excellent...how long do you think they will last until they cave.
Well, they had been starting to get somewhat overweight on those three squares a day, so they might last a few days.
If they get too skinny, the panties won't stay on their head!
Hunger is euphoric. The MSM said so. I don't understand why they want to deny terrorists euphoria.
What a coinkydink..I just got my Club Gitmo tee shirt today...
When your barn is infested with rats you don't trap and cage them.
Releasing these sadistic muslim killers back into polite society is ridiculous.
Warfarin worked.
Are they not drinking anything either? Well that is very humane, so we heard from the right to die people and their lackeys last March.
If they were all shot while trying to escape. That would be awful.
It's just a ruse. They will get real skinney then sneak out by squeezing through the bars, down into the sewer them poof they are out.
There is NO reason these clowns should even be aware of abuse allegations, let alone have the ability to forge a roundup of 50 organizing a mass hunger strike.
Do they all get a daily New York Times?
Big deal. Let them starve themselves to death.
Can I have their portion of lemon-glazed chicken then? Oh, some of that rice pilaf sounds pretty good too.
In a related story, the fish are on a hunger strike at the local lake. One of these stories is causing me to become depressed.
Can we watch?
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