Guantanamo Strike Said To Lose Steam
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A long-running hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay appeared to be losing steam, Commander Robert Durand, a spokesman at the American military base said yesterday.
The strike, which began in 2005, has had as many as a dozen participants but reached 17 before the trial of the Australian David Hicks, who pleaded guilty to supporting terrorism and was sentenced to nine more months in prison.
Commander Durand said the prisoners were trying to gain the attention of reporters covering the Hicks trial. Lawyers said the detainees were striking over conditions at Camp 6, where detainees are confined most of the day and have little contact with other prisoners or exposure to natural light.
The hunger strikers reached a peak of 131 in 2005, but the number declined to a handful after the military adopted aggressive force-feeding methods, including a restraint chair. Now, most detainees abandon the strike before the start of force-feeding.
