WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is seeking to close a court hearing on the government’s treatment of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, saying that much of the information about the man is classified.

The prisoner has gone on a hunger strike and is protesting force feeding administered by his jailers. The Justice Department argues in a court filing that an open hearing risks unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Syrian prisoner Abu Wa’el Dhiab has been held without charge at Guantanamo since August 2002. The U.S. military forcibly removes Dhiab from his cell, strapping him into a restraining chair where he is force-fed. Dhiab is challenging the procedures as abusive.

The Defense Department says the military only feeds prisoners against their will to keep them alive, and follows all laws when it does so.