Guantánamo: Lives torn apart (Fouzi Al Awda)

Amnesty International
Document Index: AMR 51/007/2006
October 7, 2006

Fawzi al-Odah is one of those who have been participating in the hunger strike since 8 August 2005. He has been force-fed but despite this, his weight dropped dramatically to the point at which in November 2005, independent doctors who had seen his medical records advised his lawyers that he was in imminent danger of death or at least permanent organ damage. He has described the method by which he was force-fed: "The nurse shoved a tube up my nose so quickly that I began choking, bleeding from the nose and spitting blood. They used no anaesthetic". He went on to describe the subsequent treatment,

"Frequent loud noises are made during the night time while I am trying to sleep and harsh physical handling by guards and nurses. I am told all of these things are being done because I am on the hunger strike." [Declaration of Fawzi al-Odah to his lawyer, 10 October 2005]

As far as Amnesty International is aware, Fawzi al-Odah was still participating in the hunger strike as of 23 January 2006. His lawyers have said that, at the time of their last visit in December 2005, he was extremely thin but stable. He has told them that he plans to continue his hunger strike until he is returned to Kuwait.

Get original here.