Hunger strike widens

last updated 8 January 2015

Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

The U.S. military said 46 detainees at the Guantánamo Bay prison joined an ongoing hunger strike on Christmas Day, more than doubling the number of fasting prisoners to 84. Thirty-two of the strikers are now being force-fed through nasal tubes. It was unclear what triggered the surge in participation, but hunger strikes at the facility have been under way for months. Many detainees have been held for more than three years without being charged or given any indication if or when they will be released. The Pentagon said the hunger strike was a media ploy and called it “consistent with al Qaida training.”