GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba
One of the Afghan war detainees participating in a hunger strike at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said "nobody cares" about their plight.
In a recording heard by CNN, the prisoner on Monday night shouted in English: "We are on a hunger strike. We've been on a hunger strike for 14 days, and nobody cares. We need the world to know about us. We are innocent here in this cage. We have no legal rights, nothing. So can somebody know about us? Can you tell the world about us?"
There are 300 suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda members in U.S. custody at Camp X-Ray, the detainee compound on the base.
The detainee, who is being housed in an area reserved for troublemakers, shouted his statement into a microphone held by one of the journalists touring the facility in a van, which is the only way military officials allow reporters to get near the prisoners.
The hunger strike began February 27 after guards interrupted a detainee's prayers. The guards had entered the cell after the prisoner refused to remove a homemade turban, violating a camp rule aimed at preventing detainees from concealing contraband. The rule has since been rescinded.
Thirteen prisoners refused breakfast Tuesday, the same number that refused lunch and dinner Monday. At the hunger strike's peak, nearly 200 detainees participated. Camp guards say the prisoners are taking turns refusing meals.
Three detainees were being fed intravenously Tuesday to combat dehydration.
'We have no legal rights,' Says Guantanamo Hunger Striker
- Author: CNN
- Publish date:16/03/2002
- Section:WORLD HEADLINES