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Jon Eisenberg, Attorney for Guantanamo Hunger Strikers, Challenges Force Feeding and More

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Attorney Jon Eisenberg returns to talk about appeals by Guantanamo prisoners to stop force feeding of hunger strikers, which challenge key parts of the Military Commissions Act.  And you’ll hear the audio from a new video animation about force feeding.Eisenberg was a lead attorney in the only wiretapping case which won a federal court judgment against the government, and has been a guest here many times.  He argued a case before the DC Appeals Court on October 18, representing a group of inmates including Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner remaining at Guantanamo, who are challenging the daily force feeding of hunger strikers.

Eisenberg describes the painful procedure of repeated force feeding, which is depicted in a video animation that voices the actual descriptions of Gitmo detainees; the audio portion is added at the end of the interview.

He argues that, under international law and established ethical standards, force feeding violates fundamental human rights.  Using Habeas Corpus arguments that challenge portions of the Military Commission Act of 2007, Eisenberg hopes to win a ruling that restores federal court jurisdiction for Guantanamo prisoners.  A few days after the October hearing, the government removed Aamer and the other plaintiffs from their list of hunger strikers being force fed, in an apparent effort to wiggle out of a possible adverse decision.