Despite a long history of reported human rights abuses at Guantanamo prison, which both the UN and US President Barack Obama denounced as torture, the prison\u2019s Director of Public Affairs Captain Robert Durand has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to carry out our mission to provide a safe and humane environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) denied the existence of an ongoing hunger strike at the facility. Durand called detainee allegations of mistreatment, \u201coutright falsehoods and gross exaggerations,\u201d implying that the protest was insignificant compared to one that took place in 2006. He also claimed that detainees had fabricated incidents of misconduct.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the definition of a hunger striker is entirely in their control and is a matter of their discretion, then I think that explains how they are able to say that there are no more than a handful of men on hunger strike,\u201d Pardiss Kebriaei of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) told RT. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile JTF-GTMO continues to deny the existence of a mass hunger strike at Guant\u00e1namo, attorneys report that the prisoners\u2019 health is declining rapidly as the hunger strike enters its second month,\u201d CCR said in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Gitmo prisoners have reportedly been on a hunger strike over alleged mistreatment at the hands of prison guards. Some 130 people housed in Camp 6 of Guantanamo Bay are believed to be participating, and a reported two-dozen men have lost consciousness due to their low blood glucose levels from the hunger strike.<\/p>\n
The prisoners are protesting against the sacrilegious disrespect displayed towards their religion by the confiscation of Korans, according to detainees and their lawyers. Although Durand has categorically denied \u201cany claims of abuse, desecration or mishandling,\u201d it is unclear how he defined those terms.<\/p>\n