Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir is a citizen of Yemen
, held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
s, in Cuba
.
Bwazir's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 440.
American intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1980, in Howra, Yemen.
As of August 18, 2010, Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir has been held at Guantanamo for nine years three months.
reports that Bawazir's lawyers assert that Bawazir was one of the hunger strikers, and that the new harsher procedures camp authorities instituted to break te hunger strike violated last fall's proscription on torture.
Camp authorities have been force-feeding
hunger strikers. In January 2006 camp authorities started using "restraint chairs" to feed detainees.
The Center for Constitutional Rights
quoted from the emergency injunction Bawazir's lawyers filed on his behalf, in reaction to what they described as the unnecessary violence of his force-feeding in the restraint chair:
Medical records show Bawazir's weight had dropped to 97 pounds, during the 140 days of his hunger strike.
Medical records show Bawazir was restrained in the chair longer than the manufacturer's directions.
Lieutenant Colonel
Jeremy Martin asserted that the force-feedings were conducted humanely. He explained the extraordinary duration of the detainee's confinement to the restraint chair was due to the length of time the force-feeding took.
U.S. government lawyers argued that the bans on torture
and cruel and unusual
treatment didn't apply to captives in Guantánamo Bay.
Justice Gladys Kessler
called the allegations "extremely disturbing".
On February 11, 2009 US District Court judge Gladys Kessler
declined to bar the use of restraint chairs for force-feeding
Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bawazir and
Omar Khamis Bin Hamdoon.
Kessler's noted that Bawazir and Hamdoon petition stated that the use of the restraint chair was "tantamount to torture".
But she stated the opinion that because she lacked the medical expertise to evaluate the position of the camp's medical authorities she lacked jurisdiction to rule on the petition.
According to the Agence France Presse Bawazir and Hamdoon were not opposed to being force fed.
According to the Agence France Presse camp authorities are withholding medical treatment for their other ailments from the hunger strikers, in an attempt to pressure them to quit their strike.
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
s, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Bwazir's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 440.
American intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1980, in Howra, Yemen.
As of August 18, 2010, Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir has been held at Guantanamo for nine years three months.
Hunger strike
The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reports that Bawazir's lawyers assert that Bawazir was one of the hunger strikers, and that the new harsher procedures camp authorities instituted to break te hunger strike violated last fall's proscription on torture.
Camp authorities have been force-feeding
Force-feeding
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a person or an animal against their will. "Gavage" is supplying a nutritional substance by means of a small plastic tube passed through the nose or mouth into the stomach, not explicitly 'forcibly'....
hunger strikers. In January 2006 camp authorities started using "restraint chairs" to feed detainees.
The Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
quoted from the emergency injunction Bawazir's lawyers filed on his behalf, in reaction to what they described as the unnecessary violence of his force-feeding in the restraint chair:
- Forcibly strapped Mr. Bawazir into a restraint chair, tying his legs, arms, head, and midsection to the chair.
- Inserted of a feeding tube that was larger than the tube that had previously been left in Mr. Bawazir's nose, increasing the pain of the insertion and extraction.
- Poured four bottles of water into his stomach through the nasal gastric tube every time he was fed even though Mr. Bawazir has never refused to drink water by mouth.
- Restrained Mr. Bawazir in the chair for extended periods at each feeding.
- Denied Mr. Bawazir access to a toilet while he was restrained and then for an additional hour or more after he was released from the chair.
- Placed Mr. Bawazir in solitary confinement.
Medical records show Bawazir's weight had dropped to 97 pounds, during the 140 days of his hunger strike.
Medical records show Bawazir was restrained in the chair longer than the manufacturer's directions.
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Jeremy Martin asserted that the force-feedings were conducted humanely. He explained the extraordinary duration of the detainee's confinement to the restraint chair was due to the length of time the force-feeding took.
U.S. government lawyers argued that the bans on torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and cruel and unusual
Cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing criminal punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person...
treatment didn't apply to captives in Guantánamo Bay.
Justice Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler is an American jurist who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, and confirmed in July 1994....
called the allegations "extremely disturbing".
On February 11, 2009 US District Court judge Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler is an American jurist who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, and confirmed in July 1994....
declined to bar the use of restraint chairs for force-feeding
Force-feeding
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a person or an animal against their will. "Gavage" is supplying a nutritional substance by means of a small plastic tube passed through the nose or mouth into the stomach, not explicitly 'forcibly'....
Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bawazir and
Omar Khamis Bin Hamdoon.
Kessler's noted that Bawazir and Hamdoon petition stated that the use of the restraint chair was "tantamount to torture".
But she stated the opinion that because she lacked the medical expertise to evaluate the position of the camp's medical authorities she lacked jurisdiction to rule on the petition.
According to the Agence France Presse Bawazir and Hamdoon were not opposed to being force fed.
According to the Agence France Presse camp authorities are withholding medical treatment for their other ailments from the hunger strikers, in an attempt to pressure them to quit their strike.
External links
- Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part Two: Captured in Afghanistan (2001) Andy Worthington, September 17, 2010
- Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir: Allegations of Abuse