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| Guantánamo force-feeding does not trouble prison doctors | Guantánamo force-feeding does not trouble prison doctors |
| (3 months later) | |
| Calls for the doctors who force-feed hunger-striking prisoners at Guantánamo Bay to refuse to perform the practice on ethical grounds have got nowhere, a spokesman for the prison said on Thursday. | Calls for the doctors who force-feed hunger-striking prisoners at Guantánamo Bay to refuse to perform the practice on ethical grounds have got nowhere, a spokesman for the prison said on Thursday. |
| No doctors, nurses or corpsman had balked at feeding the prisoners or even voiced a concern about the military's policy of using what's known as enteral feeding to prevent any of the hunger strikers starving to death, said Navy Captain Robert Durand. | No doctors, nurses or corpsman had balked at feeding the prisoners or even voiced a concern about the military's policy of using what's known as enteral feeding to prevent any of the hunger strikers starving to death, said Navy Captain Robert Durand. |
| "They signed up to carry out lawful orders," Durand said. "This is a lawful order." | "They signed up to carry out lawful orders," Durand said. "This is a lawful order." |
| The hunger strike at the US base in Cuba is nearing a fourth month amid increasing pressure on the defence department to reconsider its response to the protest. | The hunger strike at the US base in Cuba is nearing a fourth month amid increasing pressure on the defence department to reconsider its response to the protest. |
| Officials said 104 of the 166 prisoners were on hunger strike as of Thursday in a protest against their indefinite detention. Up to 44 are strapped down each day and force-fed liquid nutrients through a nasal tube. | Officials said 104 of the 166 prisoners were on hunger strike as of Thursday in a protest against their indefinite detention. Up to 44 are strapped down each day and force-fed liquid nutrients through a nasal tube. |
| "We do it to preserve life," Durand said, denying the assertions from prisoners that the procedure is painful. | "We do it to preserve life," Durand said, denying the assertions from prisoners that the procedure is painful. |
| On Wednesday, Dianne Feinstein, the head of the Senate intelligence committee, released a letter she wrote to the defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, after visiting Guantánamo in which she urged the Pentagon to re-evaluate the treatment of the hunger strikers, saying "the current approach raises very important ethical questions". | On Wednesday, Dianne Feinstein, the head of the Senate intelligence committee, released a letter she wrote to the defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, after visiting Guantánamo in which she urged the Pentagon to re-evaluate the treatment of the hunger strikers, saying "the current approach raises very important ethical questions". |
| The American Medical Association's president wrote to Hagel in April to say that force-feeding hunger strikers violated core ethical values of the medical profession. A recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine urged Guantánamo's prison doctors to refuse to take part. | The American Medical Association's president wrote to Hagel in April to say that force-feeding hunger strikers violated core ethical values of the medical profession. A recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine urged Guantánamo's prison doctors to refuse to take part. |
| A lawyer for one of the prisoners charged before a military commission in the September 11 attacks sought unsuccessfully this week to raise the hunger strike during a pretrial hearing in the case. | A lawyer for one of the prisoners charged before a military commission in the September 11 attacks sought unsuccessfully this week to raise the hunger strike during a pretrial hearing in the case. |
| Navy lieutenant commander Walter Ruiz said his client had refused meals but was not classified as a hunger striker by prison officials. Nevertheless he sought an order from the judge to bar the use of force-feeding. Prosecutors opposed the motion as not relevant. | Navy lieutenant commander Walter Ruiz said his client had refused meals but was not classified as a hunger striker by prison officials. Nevertheless he sought an order from the judge to bar the use of force-feeding. Prosecutors opposed the motion as not relevant. |
| "The reality is that it's not the preservation of a life," Ruiz said of force-feeding. "It's the preservation of existence. There is no life. In essence, by keeping these people here we have already killed their soul, and their spirit and taken away their dignity." | "The reality is that it's not the preservation of a life," Ruiz said of force-feeding. "It's the preservation of existence. There is no life. In essence, by keeping these people here we have already killed their soul, and their spirit and taken away their dignity." |
| The judge, army colonel James Pohl, declined to take up the motion. Ruiz said he would continue to press the issue. | The judge, army colonel James Pohl, declined to take up the motion. Ruiz said he would continue to press the issue. |
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