07 December 2006

It's wrong when the US does it; it's wrong when the UN does it

Is it a violation of human rights to force feed a prisoner who is engaging in a hunger strike? Many people think so and there have been outcries against the use of the technique by the American authorities at Guantánamo.

So why has the the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ordered the Dutch authorities to force feed war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj "in order to serve the ends of justice"?

In my opinion it is irrelevant whether Seselj is innocent or guilty of the crimes of which he is accused. The process of force feeding is wrong and has been since it was used against woman suffragettes over a hundred years ago.

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