Guantanamo authorities say prisoner hunger strike is largely over

A mass hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay is now considered to be largely over, authorities at the U.S. prison said on Monday.

A spokesman has said that authorities would no longer issue daily hunger strike updates on detainees, adding that, as of Monday, only 19 of the U.S. military jail’s 164 inmates remained on hunger strike.

On July 10, at the height of the more than six-month protest, 106 prisoners were on hunger strike, with 46 being fed by tube and a handful landing in the hospital, according to figures from authorities.

Since then “the number of hunger strikers has dropped significantly, and we believe today’s numbers represent those who wish to continue to strike,” spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Samuel House said in the last daily update, according to Agence France-Presse.

“Since 2007, there has been a small number of detainees who have chosen to hunger strike long-term with occasional increases and decreases,” he added.

Amnesty International, however, has hit out at the claims that the hunger strike wave is now considered over.

“As long as there is still one person on hunger strike, held without charge or subjected to an unfair trial, the Guantanamo crisis will continue,” said Zeke Johnson, an Amnesty International director for security and human rights, according to AFP.