The U.S. government asked a federal judge Wednesday to reverse her order for the release of videotapes showing a Guantanamo Bay hunger striker prisoner undergo forced cell extraction and force-feeding.
According to the Justice Department, District Judge Gladys Kessler is "substituting the court's judgement for that of executive branch officials, contrary to established precedent," reported Associated Press. The Justice Department said the government is considering appealing the judge's order.
The order comes a week after Kessler conducted a three-day hearing concerning the treatment of the prisoner, Syrian Abu Wa'el Dhiab. Kessler ordered the public relase of the 28 tapes on Oct. 3 and is giving the government until Friday to block out identfying information such as faces, voices and names before the tapes are made public.
The Justice Department claims the court schedule doesn't provide it enough time to determine whether an appeal will be taken.
Dhiab, who has been held at the prison for 12 years without trial, previously stated in a court filing, "I want Americans to see what is going on at the prison today so they will understand why we are hunger-striking and why the prison should be closed."
But the Justice Department says that releasing the videos would jeopardize national security, claiming in its court filing 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."
Dhiab's lawyers claim his forced removal, restraint and feeding is abusive, but the government says they do it for his safety.
The case was initially brought forward last year after several prisoners went on hunger strike. President Barack Obama backed the force feeding, which involves a painful process of restrain and having a tube stuck up the nose.
