Comedian Frankie Boyle has started a hunger strike in solidarity with Guantánamo Bay prisoner Shaker Aamer, who has been striking for 150 days.
Boyle began fasting yesterday, joining Aamer's lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who had already been fasting for seven days. Stafford Smith had previously tweeted that the comic was prepared to "take over from me when I fall" in the protest, which aims to raise awareness of Guantanamo prisoners on hunger strike, some of whom have reportedly been force-fed.
Boyle has been posting updates on his Twitter feed, after sending his congratulations to Stafford Smith for his actions so far. Yesterday, he signalled the start of his shift by tweeting, "There's no feeling on earth like being on hunger strike in a Dutch beach bar while they blast out Abba's Dancing Queen." Hours later, he added: "Well Day 1 of hunger not too bad. But let's remember who's really suffering. My local pizza shop. I jest."
This morning, he described the start of his second day as feeling "a bit like being drunk."
According to Stafford Smith, British actress Julie Christie has also agreed to undertake a week of the joint hunger strike.
Aamer is the last British resident imprisoned in Guantánamo, where he has been held without charge since 2002.
As of Saturday, 96 of the 166 prisoners at the detention centre were still being classified as hunger strikers by the US army, down from a high of 106.
Human rights lawyers claim those figures are being wilfully underestimated.
Aamer has twice attempted to pass Stafford Smith a list of those striking, but on both occasions names have been deleted by army censors. On 14 June, Aamer wrote a letter claiming "for sure" that 120 prisoners were on strike, despite an official count of 104.
In December, Boyle donated his £50,000 compensation from a libel action against the Daily Mirror to Aamer's legal fund.
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