Uruguay: Hunger-striking ex-Gitmo detainee not at death risk

In this Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 photo, Syrian native Abu Wa'el Dhiab, a former Guantanamo detainee, rests in bed as he speaks to his family via a laptop, in his apartment in Montevideo, Uruguay. Activists and Uruguayan officials say the health of the former Guantanamo detainee resettled in the South American country is deteriorating as he continues a hunger strike at his home. Dhiab is demanding to leave Uruguay, which took him in with five other former Guantanamo prisoners in 2014. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico) (The Associated Press)

A sign that reads in Spanish "Don't let Jihad die" hangs behind candles outside the U.S. embassy during a demonstration in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. Former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab from Syria, also called Jihad, is on a hunger strike, threatening to die if he is not allowed to reunite with his family elsewhere, after he was resettled in Uruguay. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico) (The Associated Press)

A photo of Abu Wa'el Dhiab that reads in Spanish "Will you let him die?" covers a street post outside the U.S. embassy during a demonstration in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. Former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab from Syria, also called Jihad, is on a hunger strike, threatening to die if he is not allowed to reunite with his family elsewhere, after he was resettled in Uruguay. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico) (The Associated Press)

An Uruguayan judge has rejected a call to forcibly hospitalize a former Guantanamo prisoner who is on a hunger strike after medical officials determined that he's not at imminent risk of death.

Judge Carlos Garcia said Friday the medical evaluation of Abu Wa'el Dhiab found him to be thin but lucid, and that exams were normal. He denied a request by local health authorities to hospitalize the Syrian.

Dhiab is on a hunger strike to press his demands to leave Uruguay, which took him in along with five other former Guantanamo prisoners in 2014.