By Lawrence Hurley
Reuters
WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge on Monday denied a Guantanamo prisoner’s request to halt the force-feeding of hunger strikers and said that only President Barack Obama had the power to intervene.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, based in Washington, D.C., said she would be overstepping her authority if she issued an injunction against force-feeding as requested by inmate Abu Wa’el Dhiab.
Dhiab, a Syrian, is one of four prisoners, all of whom are hunger strikers, to make such a request. The court has yet to rule on the other three: Algerian captives Ahmed Belbacha and Nabil Hadjarab and Shaker Aamer, a Saudi prisoner with British residency.
The four were rounded up during counterterrorism operations but were among the 86 prisoners cleared for release or transfer years ago. Obama came into office in 2009 with a goal of closing down Guantanamo but has run into opposition in Congress.
Full story: Federal judge denies Guantanamo inmate’s request to end force-feeding