Over the past weeks, dozens of detainees at the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp have been on a hunger strike. Until now, press coverage of the protest has been minimal, thanks largely to a US military decision to deny reporters access to the prisoners. The New York Times has circumvented this press ban by publishing a powerful op-ed by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, who has been a detainee at Guantanamo for over 11 years. In the editorial, al Hasan Moqbel tells the story of his imprisonment and his decision to hunger strike, and details the Guantanamo policy of force-feeding hunger strikers.

"The situation is desperate now. All of the detainees here are suffering deeply. At least 40 people here are on a hunger strike. People are fainting with exhaustion every day. I have vomited blood."