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March 12, 2014

Gitmo Hunger Striker Files Landmark Challenge to Force-Feeding, Details Torture 
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A hunger-striking Guantánamo Bay prisoner has filed the first-ever
legal challenge to force-feeding at the prison in federal court. Emad
Hassan is said to have been force-fed over 5,000 times since his first
hunger strike in 2005. In a court filing, Hassan's attorneys detail
several forms of alleged torture by the U.S. military. They include the
"water cure," a technique dating back to the Spanish Inquisition that
forces large amounts of liquid into prisoners' stomachs at harsh speeds,
causing severe pain. The case could lead to the first significant court
hearing on the legality of force-feeding Guantánamo prisoners.

 

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