PoliticsGuantanamo BayPoliticsObama Administration

100 Guantanamo Hunger Strikers Recognized By U.S. Military

Guantanamo Hunger Strike Hits Milestone
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By 

Senior Justice Reporter, HuffPost

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WASHINGTON -- The number of hunger strikers being tracked by the United States military at its Guantanamo Bay prison hit 100 on Saturday, two weeks after a raid forced detainees living in a communal facility into individual cells.

Twenty of the detainees are being force-fed and five of them are in the hospital, Lt. Col. Sam House said in an email from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where the detainees are being held. None of them are in life-threatening condition, he said.

The military had tracked only 43 detainees as hunger strikers before the April 13 raid of Camp Six, a communal facility. House told The Huffington Post on Friday that all of the detainees who were added to the list were hunger striking before the raid "but could not be observed or placed under medical care because they had covered or broken the cameras" in their cells.

A Muslim cultural adviser in Guantanamo told reporters last week that one or more of the detainees would die before the hunger strike ended.

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Before You Go

Inside Guantanamo's Prison Facility
Guantanamo Guard Tower(01 of23)
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Located between Guantanamo's Camp Five and Camp Six. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Guantanamo detainee received physical therapy(02 of23)
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A skinny Guantanamo detainee receives physical therapy on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Empty cell block(03 of23)
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A cell block at Guantanamo's Camp VI that had been occupied until a raid on April 13, 2013. One detainee had written "stop tortur us. stop desclate our relgion" on the wall of his cell. The officer in charge of the facility said that detainees had hoarded all types of materials in the communal area. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Guantanamo Camp VI video feeds(04 of23)
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A Guantanamo guard looks over a video screen at Camp VI at Guantanamo in April. Detainees had blocked 147 of the prison's 160 cameras, according to a military official. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Weapons(05 of23)
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Water bottles filled with gravel were amongst the weapons officials said they confiscated from detainees after the raid in April. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Weapons(06 of23)
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Other weapons included broom sticks and shanks. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Occupied block(07 of23)
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A guard checks on detainees in a sparsely populated block of Guantanamo's Camp Six in April. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Guantanamo Medical Facility(08 of23)
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Military officials show journalists the room where some detainees were being force fed during the ongoing hunger strike at the facility. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Force Feeding chair(09 of23)
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A restraining chair used to feed detainees at Guantanamo. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Cans of Ensure at Guantanamo(10 of23)
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A guard displays cans of Ensure used to force feed detainees at Guantanamo. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Detainee handprint(11 of23)
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A handprint is shown on a Camp VI cell block that was occupied by a detainee until a raid in mid-April. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly)
Detainee shoe(12 of23)
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A shoe from a detainee left on the now-empty cell block. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Shower camera(13 of23)
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Cameras are everywhere in Guantanamo's Camp VI, even inside the shower. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Cell block(14 of23)
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The second level of an empty cell block in Camp VI as seen from below. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly)
Camp VI Sign(15 of23)
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A sign outside Guantanamo's Camp VI. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Guantanamo Flag At Half Staff(16 of23)
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A flag flying over Guantanamo's Camp Six flys at half staff in honor of victims of Boston Marathon massacre. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Camp Five Guards(17 of23)
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Guards at Camp Five stand watch during morning prayers. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Camp Five Cell Block(18 of23)
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An empty cell block in Guantanamo's Camp Five. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
"Splash" Shields(19 of23)
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Face shields intended to prevent guards from being hit in the face by "cocktails" of urine, feces and semen. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Water handoff(20 of23)
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A guard hands water to a detainee on the Bravo block of Guantanamo's Camp Five. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Dead Banana Rat(21 of23)
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A dead banana rat on the road to Guantanamo's prison facilities. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Sunrise By Guantanamo's Camp Five(22 of23)
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(credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
Obama, Hagel On Joint Detention Group Board(23 of23)
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President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel pictured at the headquarters of Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Joint Detention Group headquarters. (credit:Ryan J. Reilly / Huffington Post)
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