Posted on 03/07/2007 1:33:26 PM PST by SmithL
Raleigh, N.C. (AP) -- Prison workers soon might force feed a former university professor who has been on a hunger strike for six weeks to protest his imprisonment for refusing to testify about Palestinian charities, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Sami al-Arian, a Palestinian who taught computer science at the University of South Florida, stopped eating Jan. 22 in objection to a judge's decision to hold him indefinitely because he refused to testify before a grand jury.
He has lost more than 40 pounds on his water-only diet and is so weak that he needs a wheelchair, said his wife, Nahla al-Arian.
"His health is really deteriorating," she said. "We are really worried that there will be permanent damage."
Officials at the Federal Medical Center in Butner have told al-Arian they will begin force feeding if his condition worsens, said his lawyer, Peter Erlinder.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has a hunger strike protocol that requires the medical staff to record the inmate's weight and vital signs once each day, according to the bureau's Web site.
If the staff determines that involuntary feeding is necessary, the protocol recommends feeding the person with tubes through the nose.
"It's an invasive procedure, and there's some danger of injury," Erlinder said. "We're hopeful that that there can be resolution before that."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Oh Boy! BLT in an IV?
Let the son of a b**** starve to death.
One less criminal to have to feed.
"Sami al-Arian, a Palestinian who taught computer science at the University of South Florida, stopped eating Jan. 22 in objection to a judge's decision to hold him indefinitely because he refused to testify before a grand jury.Officials at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, NC have told al-Arian they will begin force feeding if his condition worsens, said his lawyer, Peter Erlinder."
Shove a pork sausage up his arse.
How about he just hurries it along and dies, then he will have his 72 virgins and we will have an empty cell.
Meadow Muffin
Duct tape and an NG tube is called for.
This country is so messed up.
Have John Edwards do it.
What would really be cruel and unusual punishment would be to let him out, but make him LIVE in Butner, especially in the summer.
When he reaches 65 pounds, with a heart rate of zero and a temperature of 72 degrees F, they can stop...
nah. Not intravenously, but by enema.
LOL!! So true.
Sure is! All of our enemies are experts at manipulating our own system against us. Enough is enough!
Let him die if he so desires. I could honestly care less about this evil man.
I thought he had been deported. Guess not.
According to some South Carolinians I know, sending someone to North Carolina is the equivalent of deporting them.
Bobby Sands formerly with the IRA took 66 days.
LOL.
I love both of the Carolinas.
On second thought, I volunteer to insert the NG tube. Since I've been out of nursing for a few years it may be a bit "messy" though. I will then make sure his first meal is some blenderized NC BBQ.
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