The first ever trial into the legality of force-feeding at Guantanamo Bay continued in Washington yesterday.

Torture expert Dr Stephen Miles was expected to testify on the methods used, including on the size of the tube used to force-feed inmates.

The trial opened on Monday with US government lawyers claiming that internationally accepted medical ethics standards, such as the Malta Declaration on treating hunger-strikers, do not apply in Guantanamo.

Legal charity Reprieve is representing Abu Wa’el Dhiab, a Syrian who has been cleared for release since 2009 and is one of many to mount hunger strikes at his indefinite detention.

Reprieve attorney Cori Crider said: “The government wants you to believe they offer top-flight medical care to my client, but this is laughable.

As Dr Crosby testified, “it’s cruel and punitive to take a hunger-striker’s wheelchair away.”