"The open letter in the Lancet was signed by more than 250 top doctors from seven countries - the UK, the US, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Italy and the Netherlands. "We urge the US government to ensure that detainees are assessed by independent physicians and that techniques such as force-feeding and restraint chairs are abandoned," the letter said. The doctors said the World Medical Association - a world body representing physicians, including those in the US - specifically prohibited force-feeding. They said the American Medical Association, a member of the world group, should instigate disciplinary proceedings against any members known to have violated the code. Detainees at the camp have said hunger-strikers were strapped into chairs and force-fed through tubes inserted in their noses."