[JURIST] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] has confirmed that detainees are on hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] facility in Cuba. The humanitarian agency, which made a 10-day visit to the US base in late September, was allowed to visit the infirmary, see the detainees and speak with them. ICRC representative Antonella Notari said the situation is serious and needs to be followed with concern. Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, acting on behalf of some 40 detainees, has said that 21 prisoners were kept alive by force-feeding [Nation comment; JURIST report]; the ICRC refused to comment on that statement. According to the 1975 Tokyo declaration [text] from the World Medical Association [official website], doctors should not participate in forced nourishment, but explain to the prisoners consequences of hunger strike. Reuters has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• British PM asked to intervene as Gitmo hunger strike continues
• Lawyers request federal judge to oversee Gitmo hunger strike
• Gitmo hunger strike unsettling senior US commanders
• Three more detainees hospitalized as Gitmo hunger strike continues