After reading reports on social media that "he could die at any minute", I was expecting to see a skeletal figure chained to the bed with intravenous drips.
But Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, although closely guarded, was not restrained in his room when we saw him, and we did not see any drips.
He told us he was taking fluids and hospital staff, who check on him every two hours, said he regularly consumes cans of nutritional supplements.
It was also clear that this is a managed hunger strike, pulling Mr Khawaja back from danger when his medical indicators reached worrying levels.
He is walking and exercising but is still visibly thin, having lost around 25% of his body weight.
We had the strong impression that this is a man who wants to make a stand but does not want to actually die (suicide is haram, forbidden, in Islam).
But Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, although closely guarded, was not restrained in his room when we saw him, and we did not see any drips.
He told us he was taking fluids and hospital staff, who check on him every two hours, said he regularly consumes cans of nutritional supplements.
It was also clear that this is a managed hunger strike, pulling Mr Khawaja back from danger when his medical indicators reached worrying levels.
He is walking and exercising but is still visibly thin, having lost around 25% of his body weight.
We had the strong impression that this is a man who wants to make a stand but does not want to actually die (suicide is haram, forbidden, in Islam).
