JURIST - Paper Chase: Lawyer witnessed Guantanamo suicide attempt

[JURIST] Joshua Colangelo-Bryan [attorney profile] an American lawyer for Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Jumah Dossari [Amnesty International case sheet], recently became the first outsider to witness an attempted suicide at the military prison. Human rights advocates say Dossari timed the attempt so that it would be witnessed by someone other than a prison guard as a cry for help meant to reach outside the base. Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin, a spokesman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo [official website], said Monday there have been 36 suicide attempts by 22 different detainees, but that no detainee had died at the prison. Martin added that hunger strikes and suicide attempts are "consistent with al Qaeda training and reflects the detainees' attempts to elicit media attention and bring pressure on the United States government." More than two dozen detainees are participating in a hunger strike [JURIST news archive] to protest prison conditions and indefinite confinement, requiring force feeding and close monitoring by health professionals. Tuesday's Washington Post has more.

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