Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

JOSEF MENGELE a/k/a JOHN S. EDMONDSON

Islamic Community Net | 09.01.2006 05:26 | Anti-militarism | Anti-racism | Repression | World

Fresh medical atrocities have been perpetrated by hospital commandant John Edmondson against POWs tortured in the US concentration camp at Guantanamo. The criminal assaults mentioned in the articles are only those known to have been publicly admitted by commandant Edmonson himself. What other horrors remain to be revealed will only be learned in the course of time, if ever.

JOSEF MENGELE a/k/a JOHN S. EDMONDSON
Islamic Community Net
January 8, 2006
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamiccommunitynet/message/9083

Fresh medical atrocities have been perpetrated by hospital commandant John Edmondson against POWs tortured in the US concentration camp at Guantanamo. The criminal assaults mentioned in the articles are only those known to have been publicly admitted by commandant Edmonson himself. What other horrors remain to be revealed will only be learned in the course of time, if ever.

From the second article below:

"Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Queen Elizabeth's hospital in Birmingham, is co-ordinating opposition to the Guantánamo doctors' actions from the international medical community. 'If I were to do what Edmondson describes in his statement, I would be referred to the General Medical Council and charged with assault,' he said."

Please note that 2 articles follow:

*U.S. crimes in Guantanamo grow more horrific
*Scandal of force-fed prisoners


---


(1)

U.S. crimes in Guantanamo grow more horrific
Al Jazeera
1/8/2006
 http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=10472

Gitmo detainees participating in the current hunger strike routinely experience bleeding and nausea

In an interview with the weekly magazine Der Spiegel published days before her first visit to the United States, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Guantanamo detention camp should be closed and that Washington should find other ways of dealing with what it calls “terror suspects”.

“An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term,” Merkel said in an interview published on Saturday.

“Different ways and means must be found for dealing with these prisoners.”

Merkel plans to visit Washington next week, her first since becoming chancellor in November.

A Guantánamo Bay doctor has recently admitted that hunger strikers at the U.S. detention facility in Cuba are tied down and fed through nasal tubes.

Contrary to what the U.S. military claimed on Friday; that the number of Guantanamo Bay prisoners taking part in an ongoing hunger strike has fallen by more than half, new details have emerged, according The Observer, revealing the growing number of hunger strikers at Guantánamo Bay, and detailing how prisoners are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive.

Gitmo detainees participating in the current hunger strike routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp's chief doctor, seen by The Observer.

And according to Bill Goodman, legal director for the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights, which represents many detainees, restrictions on information from the base made it impossible to know just how many detainees were participating.

"You can't believe them because they have an interest in trying to purvey this perspective that everything at Guantanamo is fine and everybody is wonderful. In order to do that, they have to say there aren't that many hunger strikers," he said.

Detainees' lawyers have repetitively accused the U.S. military of violently shoving tubes through the men's noses and into their stomachs without anesthesia or sedatives as part of the force-feeding process.

Captain John S Edmondson, commander of Guantanamo's hospital admitted that 'experience teaches us' that such symptom must be expected 'whenever nasogastric tubes are used'.

It is painful, Edmonson admits.

But Edmondson argued that the thick, 4.8mm diameter tubes tried previously to allow quicker feeding are not being used anymore and that a new 3mm tubes are 'soft and flexible', so they’re not that painful.

The London solicitors Allen and Overy, representing some of the hunger strikers, lodged a court action to be heard next week in California, where Edmondson is registered to practise.

They call on the state medical ethics board investigate him for 'unprofessional conduct' for allowing force-feeding.

The Observer obtained Edmonson's affirmation last week, as a Guantánamo spokesman confirmed that the number of hunger strikers has almost doubled since Christmas. Now 81 put of the 550 detainees held at Guantanamo jail are taking part in the hunger strike.

Last week, the U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH signed a law denying the detainees their right to file habeas corpus petitions in the U.S. federal courts. And on Friday, the administration asked the Supreme Court to make this retroactive, “nullifying about 220 cases in which prisoners have contested the basis of their detention and the legality of pending trials by military commission,” The Observer stated.

According to Article 5 of the 1975 World Medical Association Tokyo Declaration, which U.S. doctors are legally bound to observe, doctors are prohibited from using force-feeding under any circumstances.

“If I were to do what Edmondson describes in his statement, I would be referred to the General Medical Council and charged with assault,” said Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Queen Elizabeth's hospital in Birmingham.

 http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=10472


---


(2)

Scandal of force-fed prisoners
Hunger strikers are tied down and fed through nasal tubes, admits Guantánamo Bay doctor
David Rose
The Observer
Sunday January 8, 2006
 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,16937,1681736,00.html

New details have emerged of how the growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive.

They routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp's chief doctor, seen by The Observer.

'Experience teaches us' that such symptoms must be expected 'whenever nasogastric tubes are used,' says the affidavit of Captain John S Edmondson, commander of Guantánamo's hospital. The procedure - now standard practice at Guantánamo - 'requires that a foreign body be inserted into the body and, ideally, remain in it.' But staff always use a lubricant, and 'a nasogastric tube is never inserted and moved up and down. It is inserted down into the stomach slowly and directly, and it would be impossible to insert the wrong end of the tube.' Medical personnel do not insert nasogastric tubes in a manner 'intentionally designed to inflict pain.'

It is painful, Edmonson admits. Although 'non-narcotic pain relievers such as ibuprofen are usually sufficient, sometimes stronger drugs,' including opiates such as morphine, have had to be administered.

Thick, 4.8mm diameter tubes tried previously to allow quicker feeding, so permitting guards to keep prisoners in their cells for more hours each day, have been abandoned, the affidavit says. The new 3mm tubes are 'soft and flexible'.

The London solicitors Allen and Overy, who represent some of the hunger strikers, have lodged a court action to be heard next week in California, where Edmondson is registered to practise. They are asking for an order that the state medical ethics board investigate him for 'unprofessional conduct' for agreeing to the force-feeding.

Edmonson's affidavit, in response to a lawsuit on behalf of detainees on hunger strike since last August, was obtained last week by The Observer, as a Guantánamo spokesman confirmed that the number of hunger strikers has almost doubled since Christmas, to 81 of the 550 detainees. Many have been held since the camp opened four years ago this month, although they not been charged with any crime, nor been allowed to see any evidence justifying their detention.

This and other Guantánamo lawsuits now face extinction. Last week, President Bush signed into law a measure removing detainees' right to file habeas corpus petitions in the US federal courts. On Friday, the administration asked the Supreme Court to make this retroactive, so nullifying about 220 cases in which prisoners have contested the basis of their detention and the legality of pending trials by military commission.

Although some prisoners have had to be tied down while being force-fed, 'only one patient' has had to be immobilised with a six-point restraint, and 'only one' passed out. 'In less than 10 cases have trained medical personnel had to use four-point restraint in order to achieve insertion.' Edmondson claims the actual feeding is voluntary. During Ramadan, tube-feeding takes place before dawn.

Article 5 of the 1975 World Medical Association Tokyo Declaration, which US doctors are legally bound to observe through their membership of the American Medical Association, states that doctors must not undertake force-feeding under any circumstances. Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Queen Elizabeth's hospital in Birmingham, is co-ordinating opposition to the Guantánamo doctors' actions from the international medical community. 'If I were to do what Edmondson describes in his statement, I would be referred to the General Medical Council and charged with assault,' he said.

· Yesterday the new German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the latest leader to condemn the United States for practices at the prison. In a magazine interview days before her first visit as premier to the US, Merkel said Washington should close Guantánamo and find other ways of dealing with terror suspects.

 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,16937,1681736,00.html

-

 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamiccommunitynet/message/9083

Islamic Community Net
- Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamiccommunitynet/message/9083

Comments

Display the following 3 comments

  1. Incomparable — FTB
  2. Those who support US 'Mengele-Style' abuse — twilight
  3. "FTB"'s agenda is clear — Islamic Community Net
Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech