Ramadan 2013: Mos Def Force-Fed In Guantanamo Bay Demonstration

US rapper Mos Def has been filmed undergoing a force-feeding procedure to raise awareness about the treatment of Guantanamo Bay inmates.

The 39-year-old star, who now goes by the name Yasiin Bey, took part in the stunt to shed light on the conditions faced by detainees at the controversial prison in Cuba.

The four-minute film, produced by rights group Reprieve and directed by Bafta award-winning film-maker Asif Kapadia, was released in the days leading up to the Islamic holy period of Ramadan, when inmates will be force fed after sunset, in line with the rules of the month-long religious fast.

During the force-feeding procedure, the prisoner is typically restrained before a nutritional fluid is inserted into their nose through a tube and down into their stomach

Bey is heard struggling and pleading for the painful procedure to stop and becomes increasingly upset in the graphic scenes. He later described the experience as a "burning" feeling that became "unbearable."

"In Guantanamo Bay, the full procedure is carried out twice a day. Typically, it takes two hours to complete," he says.

The filmmakers followed the instructions from a leaked document that details military instructions and standard operating procedure for force-feeding detainees.

According to the video, 120 detainees are currently undergoing a hunger strike at Guatanamo, with 44 being force-fed at the detention centre which is used to hold terrorism suspects apprehended since 9/11.

Although Human rights activists claim the force-feeding amounts to torture, US District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that she lacked the authority to halt the practice.

"It is perfectly clear from the statements of detainees, as well as the statements from the organizations just cited, that force-feeding is a painful, humiliating and degrading process," she wrote in her four-page order.

Referencing President Obama, she added: "there is [however] an individual who does have the authority to address the issue."

Obama has sought to close Guantanamo since taking office in 2009, but measures to do so have become stuck in the US congress.