Administration seeks to close Guantanamo hearing

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/09/administration-seeks-close-guantanamo-hearing

Administration seeks to close Guantanamo hearing
By Pete Yost
The Associated Press
© September 29, 2014

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration is seeking to close a court hearing into the government's treatment of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, saying that much of the information about the man is classified. He has gone on a hunger strike and is protesting force-feeding procedures administered by his jailers.

In a court filing, the Justice Department says that "an open hearing risks unauthorized disclosure of classified or protected information. The record in this case is large, with classified and protected information often inextricably intertwined with unclassified information."

Abu Wa'el Dhiab, a Syrian prisoner, has been held without charge at Guantanamo since August 2002. The U.S. military forcibly removes Dhiab from his cell and straps him on a restraining chair where he is force-fed. Dhiab is challenging the procedures as abusive.

The Defense Department has said the military only feeds prisoners against their will to keep them alive, and follows all laws when it does so.