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Rapper Mos Def force-fed by standard Gitmo procedure [VIDEO]

By Kristen Butler, UPI.com
Actor and rapper Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) undergoes the force-feeding procedure reportedly used on hunger-striking detainees at Guantanamo Bay. (Reprieve via The Guardian)
Actor and rapper Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) undergoes the force-feeding procedure reportedly used on hunger-striking detainees at Guantanamo Bay. (Reprieve via The Guardian)

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Actor and rapper Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, underwent a force-feeding procedure to call attention to the hunger-striking detainees at Guantánamo Bay.

More than 100 detainees at Guantánamo are on hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention, and as Ramadan begins, more than 40 of them are being force-fed.

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A leaked document obtained by The Guardian reportedly sets out the military's standard operating procedure for force-feeding detainees. In a four-minute film released by human rights organization Reprieve and directed by Bafta award-winning director Asif Kapadia, Bey undergoes the graphic feeding procedure.

The Obama administration has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats for force-feeding protesters, some of whom have been striking since February.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last month called on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to stop the force-feeding, saying it violated international norms and medical ethics, adding that "hunger strikes are a long known form of non-violent protest aimed at bringing attention to a cause, rather than an attempt of suicide."

Attempts by the president to close the Guantánamo facility and transfer detainees to U.S. prisons have been blocked by Republicans. The administration has so far been unable to find other countries willing to accept the prisoners.

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