Force feeding detainees is torture. President Obama should intervene immediately and use his authority as Commander in Chief to end the practice at Guantánamo.
There are 81 detainees engaged in an active hunger strike at the US detention facility in Guantánamo. Currently 45 of them are being force fed using an extremely painful and frightening medical procedure. The detainee is chained at his hands and feet, then forced into a feeding chair, where his wrists are restrained and head forced back. A tube is forced up his nose and down his esophagus, then a high nutrient "shake" is pumped through the tube into the his stomach. The procedure can take up to 2 hours and occurs twice a day for each detainee. The strike and force feedings have been ongoing since early March 2013.