Chapter 3 Conditions of Detention | 69 types of physical or psychological coercion against individuals who have voluntarily decided to go on a hunger strike. 173 In this regard, the IACHR welcomes the fact that a U.S. navy nurse at Guantanamo has refused to force-feed prisoners after reportedly deciding the practice was a criminal act. A spokesman for southern command, which oversees Guantanamo, indicated that it was the first time a nurse or doctor is known to have refused to tube-feed a prisoner. 174 149. In a case of forced feeding of a detainee, the European Court of Human Rights held that Ukraine had violated the prohibition of torture (Article 3 of the European Convention) given that the Government had not demonstrated that there had been a medical necessity to force-feed the detainee. The Court concluded in the case that the authorities had not respected procedural safeguards in the face of the detainee’s conscious refusal to take food and had not acted in his best interest. Further, the Court found that the use of force and the restraints applied – handcuffs, mouthwidener, a special tube inserted into the food channel – had constituted treatment of such a severe character that it warranted the characterization of torture.175 In a more recent case against the Republic of Moldova, the European Court held that there had been a violation of the prohibition against torture given that there was no medical evidence that the detainee’s life or health had been in serious danger and there were sufficient grounds to suggest that his force-feeding had in fact been aimed at discouraging him from continuing his protest. The Court also concluded that the manner in which the detainee had been repeatedly force-fed (mandatory handcuffing regardless of any resistance and severe pain caused by metal instruments to force him to open his mouth and pull out his tongue) had unnecessary exposed him to great physical pain and humiliation, and accordingly, could only be considered as torture. 176 150. On September 23, 2013, the military pronounced the end of the mass hunger strike. A spokesperson said the military would no longer issue daily updates on the number of inmates participating in the protest, eligible for force-feeding or hospitalized, as had been its practice over the previous months. 177 The IACHR notes that, although the widespread hunger strike is over, there are still some detainees currently on hunger strike at Guantanamo. At the beginning of 2014, 25 detainees were reportedly on hunger strike, 16 of whom were being force-fed. 178 173 174 175 176 177 178 IACHR, Press Release 29/13: IACHR, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, UN Rapporteur on Torture, UN Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, and UN Rapporteur on Health Reiterate Need to End the Indefinite Detention of Individuals at Guantanamo Naval Base in Light of Current Human Rights Crisis, May 1, 2013. The Guardian, Guantanamo nurse refuses to force-feed prisoners, July 16, 2014. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/16/guantanamo-nurse-refuses-force-feed-prisoners Nevmerzhitsky v. Ukraine, no. 54825/00, ECHR 2005. Ciorap v. The Republic of Moldova, no. 32896/07, ECHR 2012. The New York Times, Guantanamo Hunger Strike Is Largely Over, U.S. Says, September 23, 2013. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/guantanamo-hunger-strike-largely-over-us-says.html?_r=0 The New York Times, Appeals Court Allows Challenges by Detainees at Guantanamo Prison. February 11, 2014. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/us/appeals-court-clears-way-for-guantanamochallenges.html Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR