In Focus
WAT Update on Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, Ex-GTMO Detainee/Hunger Striker
Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, a Guantanamo detainee released with 5 other men to Uruguay in 2014, is continuing a long-term hunger strike in a desperate demand to be allowed to reunite with his family in Turkey. In a thwarted attempt to travel to Turkey this summer he was detained without counsel in Venezuela. When he was returned to Uruguay, he took to his bed and has refused to eat or drink liquids.
Last week he fell into a coma at home, but was revived after a visiting medical team administered intravenous liquids. Declared medically stable, he was not hospitalized but is being monitored closely. He gave the government of Uruguay an ultimatum to identify a country to send him to or he would continue his total hunger strike. On September 19, Dhiab agreed to continue drinking water until September 26, which will prevent imminent dehydration but not the critical dangers of starvation. However, this offers additional time for Uruguay to identify a country for him to go to. Uruguayan media reports that the government is making efforts to do so and is asking for US assistance in pressuring Arab countries to accept him. Meanwhile, activists in Uruguay who support Dhiab are planning a week of protest vigils in Montevideo at the Foreign Ministry to call for Uruguayan solidarity and to plead his case.
To learn more, go to:
Hunger-striking Gitmo ex-detainee’s health said to worsen
Why is a former Guantanamo prisoner on hunger strike in Uruguay?
Wat responds to fate of Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, ex-GTMO detainee/hunger striker
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