Defense lawyer criticizes US military officials over Gitmo force-feeding

The defense lawyer of a detainee in the notorious Guantanamo prison has fiercely criticized the U.S. military for force-feeding the hunger striking inmates in the prison.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Walter Ruiz made the comments during the fourth day of a week-long pretrial hearing of five Guantanamo prisoners on Thursday.

U.S. military authorities maintain that force-feeding those on hunger strike is lawful and is aimed at saving their lives.

“But the reality is it’s not preservation of a life, it’s preservation of an existence. There is no life. In essence, by keeping these people here, we’ve already killed their soul, their spirit and taken away their dignity. So we’re preserving their bodies perhaps, but we’re certainly not preserving a life,” argued Ruiz during the hearing.

He also added that prison officials refuse to classify his client as a hunger striker despite his client’s refusal to have meals.

Ruiz was seeking an order from the judge to forbid the practice of force-feeding the hunger strikers but to no avail. Prosecutors described his motion as irrelevant and Judge Army Col. James Pohl refused to take it up.

Several human rights organizations have described the force-feeding of the prisoners as a torturous practice.

More than 130 Guantanamo prisoners have been on hunger strike for more than four months to protest against their harsh conditions in the U.S.-run facility.