US judge orders forced feeding of Afghan suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal
A US federal judge has ordered that Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national accused in the fatal shooting near the White House, be forcibly fed and treated until there is no longer a serious risk to his life.
Amit Mehta, a judge on the US federal court, has allowed prison doctors to provide Lakanwal with food and medical care without his consent. According to court documents, the defendant has refused to eat in recent months and at times has even refused to drink water.
Lakanwal was taken to hospital in July after his health worsened. The court said these measures will continue until he can once again consume enough food and fluids, accept medical treatment and is no longer facing a serious risk.
Under the court order, the directive is valid until 28 October, but it can be extended. Lakanwal has denied all charges against him and said he is innocent.
He is being tried in the United States over the shooting of members of the country’s National Guard near the White House. In the incident, which took place in November last year, National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom was killed and another service member, Andrew Wolfe, was seriously wounded.
US prosecutors have also accused him of trying to kill two other security personnel who intervened to restrain him. The US Department of Justice is also reviewing a request to seek the death penalty for the defendant, but no final decision has been announced yet.
The White House is the seat of the US presidency in Washington, and the handling of federal cases of this kind in the US judicial system takes place under federal courts.
