Appeals Court Rejects Challenge of Force Feeding at Guantanamo, Case Going Back to District Court

One step backward, one step forward

A federal appeals court Tuesday turned away a challenge to force-feeding Guantánamo Bay detainees on a hunger strike, but left the door open to legal efforts aimed at ending the practice.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a bid for a preliminary injunction to stop force-feeding at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba. But two of the three judges ruled that the detainees did have the right to challenge the force-feeding – rejecting two district court rulings that the judiciary didn't have jurisdiction in the case.

The lawyer for the detainees, Jon B. Eisenberg, called that "a big win for us," because it lets the detainees go back to the district court and press the case.