At its peak more than two-thirds of Guantanamo’s 166 prisoners refused food. More than 60 continue the strike at this time, RT reported.
It began in February when several prisoners accused guards at Camp Delta of confiscating their books, letters and other personal possessions, as well as restricting their activities, for no obvious reasons. Several inmates also said that US officers mishandled the Quran.
But as time went by the strike numbers swelled, it became a protest at the ongoing existence of a prison in which more than half of the inmates have been cleared for release.
Even General John Kelly, who oversees the facility on Cuba’s south coast, has admitted that when ‘frustrated’ prisoners have no hope of freedom or even a trial (only 9 of those inside have faced charges), there is little for them to lose.
Despite US President Barack Obama’s repeated public opposition to Guantanamo, by the time the strike began, the chances for a legal resolution for any inmate were smaller than ever.
For many of the prisoners, the US had deemed it unsafe to return them to their own countries, others were considered dangerous, but the evidence against them was either insufficient or obtained through torture and inadmissible in court (even if the torture had been performed by US allies in the first place).