March 14, 2013, New York – In response to statements by JTF-GTMO calling reports of a mass hunger strike at Guantánamo “falsehoods” and in light of growing concerns over the health of detainees who have now been on strike for over a month, the Center for Constitutional Rights and habeas counsel sent a letter to Secretary Hagel urging him to take action and released the following statement:

While JTF-GTMO continues to deny the existence of a mass hunger strike at Guantánamo, attorneys report that the prisoners’ health is declining rapidly as the hunger strike enters its second month. We urge Secretary Hagel to address this growing crisis at Guantánamo before another man dies at the prison, this time under his watch. The hunger strike should be a wake-up call for the Obama Administration, which cannot continue to ignore the human cost of Guantánamo and put off closing the prison any longer.