Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California is calling for an end to the force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. Lawyers say at least 130 of the 166 remaining prisoners at Guantánamo are refusing to eat in protest of their indefinite imprisonment. Forty-three prisoners are now being force-fed through tubes four months after the strike began. In a letter to the Pentagon, Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: “Hunger strikes are a long-known form of non-violent protest aimed at bringing attention to a cause, rather than an attempt of suicide. … The current approach raises very important ethical questions and complicates the difficult situation regarding the continued indefinite detention at Guantánamo.” Feinstein is one of the most senior U.S. lawmakers to oppose force-feeding at Guantánamo. During his speech Wednesday in Berlin, President Obama highlighted his pledge to seek Guantánamo’s closure.

President Obama: “Even as we remain vigilant about the threat of terrorism, we must move beyond the mindset of perpetual war. And in America, that means redoubling our efforts to close the prison at Guantánamo.”