Military says Guantanamo hunger strike rises to 92

MIAMI (AP) — A U.S. military spokesman says the number of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay labeled as hunger strikers has been raised to 92 based on evaluations by medical personnel at the U.S. base in Cuba.

The new figure is up by eight from a day earlier and represents more than half of the 166 men held there.

Lt. Col. Samuel House says the military arrived at the new figure Wednesday because doctors have been able to evaluate prisoners more closely after moving them to single cells out of a communal area. That move sparked a brief clash between guards and prisoners on April 13.

Lawyers for prisoners have been saying since the strike began in February that the military was undercounting the men refusing to eat in protest of their confinement.

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US military defends Guantanamo prison raid

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — Top officials at the Guantanamo Bay detention center on Tuesday defended a raid that resulted in a violent clash with detainees, saying the operation was critical and the handful of injuries on both sides were minor.

Army soldiers with riot helmets and shields swept into recreation yards and met with resistance from several dozen prisoners, the leadership of the detention center said in an interview with journalists visiting the U.S. base in Cuba for the first time since Saturday's clash.

The confrontation ended within minutes, but not before two guards were struck in the head by prisoners and five of the prisoners were injured, including one struck by rubber pellets from what the military calls a "less-than-lethal" round fired from a modified shotgun.

"The appropriate amount of force was used for the situation," said Navy Rear Adm. John W. Smith, the commander of the detention center.

The guard force raided Camp 6 because the prisoners had for several weeks covered up 147 of the 160 security cameras, making it impossible to monitor them amid an ongoing hunger strike. Smith and members of his leadership team said they were concerned a prisoner might try to commit suicide and there were two attempted suicides since the protest began around Feb. 6.

To restore control, prison officials decided to move the prisoners in Camp 6 out of a communal area, where they eat together and freely associate for most of the day, into single cells from which they are released for two hours a day for recreation.

The troops who carried out the raid trained for three weeks to carry out the raid and were "prepared for any level of potential resistance," said Army Col. John Bogdan, who is in charge of the guard force. Prisoners had makeshift weapons, including broomsticks and batons made of plastic bottles and other materials.

Two guards were struck in the head during the confrontation but neither was seriously hurt and both have since returned to duty.

Five detainees were injured, including one who was hit by rubber pellets. Navy Capt. Richard Stoltz, who is in charge of the detainee hospital, said "there was no significant blood loss," and the prisoner was treated at the scene.

Another prisoner cut his head by banging his head on a cell door in what the military officials said was a self-inflicted wound. Stoltz said he was given about three stitches. Three others were scraped as guards secured the area and moved the men into the cells.

The communal holding areas of Camp 6 had once been held up as a model in Guantanamo. Military officials had said prisoners had grown compliant as they were able to lessen their isolation, watch satellite TV and take classes. But prisoners in February started the hunger strike to protest their indefinite confinement and what they said were intrusive searches of their Qurans for contraband.

Smith said prisoners may later be allowed to return to the communal holding areas if they follow prison rules.

The hunger strike, meanwhile, goes on, with 45 prisoners refusing meals and 13 being force fed.

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US now naming force-fed Guantanamo prisoners

MIAMI (AP) — Lawyers for prisoners held at Guantanamo say the U.S. government is notifying them if their clients are being force-fed during a hunger strike at the U.S. base in Cuba.

Lawyer Cori Crider among those to get the first-time notification. She was told Sami Mukbel of Yemen was being force-fed and was allowed to speak with him by phone Monday.

Crider says he has lost about 30 pounds since the strike began in February as a protest over indefinite confinement and what prisoners say are intrusive searches of their Qurans.

A military spokesman says the U.S. previously avoided discussing any prisoner by name. The military says there are 42 prisoners on hunger strike and 11 are being force-fed to prevent dangerous weight loss. Lawyers say the figure is higher.

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US won't allow Russians to see Guantanamo prisoner

MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. won't allow Russia to see one of its citizens at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says the Russian government asked to see Ravil Mingazov at the U.S. base in Cuba but the prisoner refused.

Nuland told reporters in Washington on Wednesday it's against U.S. policy to force Mingazov to attend such a meeting.

Lawyers for Minagzov say they haven't been told why Russia wants to see their client. The prisoner has said he does not want to be sent back to Russia because he fears persecution by the government.

Mingazov is a 47-year-old former ballet dancer who converted to Islam in the Russian Army. He has been held at Guantanamo as a suspected Islamic militant since 2002 but has not been charged.

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Striking Guantanamo prisoners say water denied

MIAMI (AP) — Prisoners taking part in expanding hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay leveled new complaints about their military jailers Wednesday as a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross made a fact-finding trip to the U.S. base in Cuba.

In an emergency motion filed with a federal court in Washington, lawyers say guards have refused to provide drinking water to hunger strikers and kept camp temperature "extremely frigid," to thwart the protest. A spokesman for the detention center denied the allegations.

"The reality is that these men are slowly withering away and we as a country need to take immediate action," said Mari Newman, a human rights lawyer based in Denver, who was among those who submitted the motion.

They filed the petition after interviewing Yemeni prisoner Musaab al-Madhwani by phone Monday. He told them that guards were refusing to provide bottled water and telling prisoners to drink from tap water that inmates believe is non-potable. The lawyers say in their motion that the lack of drinkable water has "already caused some prisoners kidney, urinary and stomach problems," in addition to the health effects of the hunger strike.

Along with their motion, they submitted an affidavit from Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist and retired general, who believes that the hunger strike and lack of adequate drinking water "sets them up for gastrointestinal infections and a quick demise." The doctor also said the 34-year-old al-Madhwani suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his torture while in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and could be worsened by harsh conditions at Guantanamo.

The U.S. government has not filed a response to the motion. Navy Capt. Robert Durand, a spokesman for the prison, said prisoners are provided with bottled water and that the tap water is safe to drink.

"It's potable water. It's the same water I make my coffee with and that they make lunch with," Durand said. He also denied that there had been any change to the air conditioning settings inside the prison camps.

Accounts of the hunger strike have been in sharp conflict for weeks. Lawyers who have visited or interviewed their clients say a majority of the 166 men held at Guantanamo have joined the protest and some have lost significant weight and are at serious risk.

The military said that as of Wednesday, there were 31 men on hunger strike, up from 28 on Monday. Three men were at the hospital being treated for dehydration and 11 were being force-fed with a liquid nutrient mix to prevent dangerous weight loss.

A two-person delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross that includes a doctor is at the base to assess the situation. They started a week earlier than planned because of the hunger strike, said spokesman Simon Schorno. Their findings will be presented to the camp commander and Miami-based Southern Command, which oversees the prison, but will not be made public.

Lawyers for the prisoners say the hunger strike began on Feb. 6 as a protest of the men's indefinite confinement without charge and because of what they said was a return to harsh treatment from past years, including more intrusive searches and confiscation of personal items such as mail from their families. The military says no policies or procedures have changed at Guantanamo and the strike is an attempt to draw attention to their cause.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest say Obama's team is closely monitoring the hunger strikes, but deferred to the Pentagon for any specifics.

"The administration remains committed to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo bay," Earnest said, noting that legislation passed by Congress makes it likely that process won't be quick.

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Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler contributed from Washington.

Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay say they are being denied access to drinking water as a hunger strike grinds on and apparently grows at the U.S. base in Cuba.

An emergency court filing based on complaints from a Yemeni prisoner says guards have refused to provide bottled water to hunger strikers and told the men to drink from taps in their cells. The motion filed in Washington also alleges that the temperatures in the prison have been kept at "extremely frigid" temperatures.

A prison spokesman said the allegations are untrue. Navy Capt. Robert Durand said Wednesday that prisoners are provided with bottled water. He also says the tap water is potable at Guantanamo.

The military says 31 prisoners are on hunger strike, up from 28 on Monday.

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US military says Guantanamo hunger strike edges up

MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. military says a hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay prison has grown to include at least 28 prisoners.

A prison spokesman says 28 men held at the U.S. base in Cuba meet the military's definition of a hunger striker. Navy Capt. Robert Durand said Monday that 10 of those men are being force-fed liquid nutrients to prevent dangerous weight loss. Three hunger strikers are at the hospital being treated for dehydration.

Defense lawyers say prisoners began the strike began on Feb. 6 to protest what they say are more intrusive searches of their cells and of their indefinite confinement. The lawyers say the strike involves most of the 166 men held at Guantanamo.

A Red Cross delegation is visiting Guantanamo this week.

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US says hunger strike grows to 21 at Guantanamo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Guantanamo Bay prison spokesman says 21 men are on hunger strike in a widening protest at the U.S. base in Cuba.

Navy Capt. Robert Durand says eight men are being fed with a liquid nutrient mix to prevent dangerous weight loss. Two men are at the prison hospital being treated for dehydration. The military says none are in immediate danger from the strike.

Lawyers for prisoners say the men are protesting their indefinite confinement and what they consider intrusive searches of their Qurans.

Durand said previously that only a handful of prisoners met the military definition of hunger strike, which includes missing nine consecutive meals. The number grew to 14 on Friday and reached 21 on Monday. Lawyers say the strike is more widespread than the military acknowledges.

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