Three former detainees from Guantanamo Bay who were transferred to Slovakia in January are continuing their hunger strike to protest against the allegedly bad conditions that they are receiving in Slovakia and the treatment they are receiving from Slovak authorities at a detention facility in Medveďov in Trnava region, one of the detainees Adel Fattouh Al-Gazzar told the TASR newswire on June 30.
Al-Gazzar said that the three men are prepared to continue the hunger strike until their problems are resolved.
“Of course I'm weaker, but I can still walk. Yesterday and today a doctor came to see us to check our blood pressure, but we didn't allow this,” said the Egyptian. Al-Gazzar's lawyer refused to comment on the case. “The case is open and I think it would harm them more than it would help them [to comment],” he said, adding that he thinks the case will be resolved soon.
The detainees' identities were kept secret for five months until the men themselves revealed their names when they began the hunger strike, contacting Amnesty International Slovensko (AIS).
According to AIS Director Branislav Tichý, the detainees aren't allowed to have any contact with anybody except for personnel at the facility and their lawyer. Tichý described their living conditions as poor. They only have beds and a sink at their disposal and are only allowed to leave the room in which they are kept for one hour per day.
The Slovak authorities are currently deciding on the detainees' legal status. They are described as 'foreigners located in Slovakia' at the moment.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
