Gov't Report Backs Detainee Abuse Claims
By TOM HAYS
The Associated Press
Sunday, June 22, 2003; 4:13 PM
NEW YORK - Yasser Ebrahim says his introduction to the federal prison system came from guards slamming his head into a wall while calling him a "terrorist."
Shakir Baloch says guards at the same lockup warned him: "You will be here the rest of your life."
Those allegations and others - including random beatings - made by Muslim men held on immigration charges after the Sept. 11 attacks had been routinely dismissed by federal officials.
Earlier this month, however, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General issued a report saying it found "significant problems" with the treatment of nearly 800 detainees nationwide, including abusive conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where Ebrahim and Baloch were held.
The report cast a critical light on the little-known federal lockup on the waterfront, and breathed life into a pending civil rights lawsuit filed by Ebrahim, Baloch and five others against Attorney General John Ashcroft, prison personnel, FBI supervisors and other officials. The plaintiffs are seeking class action status.
"What we said about all the suffering was true," Ebrahim, 31, said in a phone interview from his native Egypt. "The government was doing its best to deny it."
Both Ebrahim and Baloch were held for eight months without being charged with a crime, then were deported.
"I'm owed an apology," said Baloch, 41, a Pakistani-born doctor with Canadian citizenship.
Their lawyers have amended the lawsuit, filed last year, to incorporate the inspector general's findings. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims federal officials violated their rights by imprisoning them on the basis of their race and religion.
More than 80 men designated "of high interest" in the FBI investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks were jailed at the facility in Brooklyn between Sept. 14, 2001, and Aug. 27, 2002. The nine-story facility usually houses men and women charged with federal crimes, not immigration violations.
Inmates like Ebrahim and Baloch were classified "suspected terrorists" and put in high-security cell blocks normally reserved for dangerous inmates.
The men say they were denied access to phones and lawyers for weeks at a time, locked in tiny cells where lights burned all night, kept awake by guards pounding on their doors, put in handcuffs and shackles whenever outside their cells, and beaten at random.
"I was being hated by everyone around me wanting revenge for Sept. 11," Ebrahim said. He acknowledged staying past his visa's expiration but said he did nothing else illegal.
The abuse allegedly subsided once guards were ordered to videotape detainees outside their cells - a policy that prison officials said was designed simply to deter accusations of mistreatment. The officials cited an al-Qaida training manual that instructed terrorists to accuse their captors of abuse.
Ebrahim says one guard whispered: "The camera is your best friend. If not for the camera, I would have smashed your face."
In interviews with the Inspector General's investigators, most guards denied any wrongdoing. But one said he witnessed guards slam inmates against walls, and "stated this was a common practice before the MDC began videotaping the detainees," the report said.
The guard said a supervisor told him "it was all part of being in jail and not to worry about it."
Justice Department officials refuse to discuss the civil suit.
Government attorneys have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing Ashcroft and other defendants are shielded by immunity laws designed to ensure they can perform their official duties "without the chill and distraction of damages suits."
Ebrahim says the distraction of the lawsuit is nothing compared to hearing a knock on his door on Sept. 30, 2001, and being hauled away for reasons he says are still unclear to him.
"This is not supposed to happen in America," he said.
© 2003 The Associated Press
And that article on abusive prison officials proves just what? Do you agree that prison officials should be abusive, or do you deny that abuse has ever occurred?
The reason the article made news at all is that alleged abuse was investigated and a report was made- contrary to the impression the writer wishes to convey that allegations of abuse were being "ignored. "
Gov't Report Backs Detainee Abuse Claims
By TOM HAYS
The Associated Press
Sunday, June 22, 2003; 4:13 PM
NEW YORK - Yasser Ebrahim says his introduction to the federal prison system came from guards slamming his head into a wall while calling him a "terrorist."
Shakir Baloch says guards at the same lockup warned him: "You will be here the rest of your life."
(* Hearsay, but if true, shame on those guards for lying. We let people off all the time.)
Those allegations and others - including random beatings - made by Muslim men held on immigration charges after the Sept. 11 attacks had been routinely dismissed by federal officials.
Earlier this month, however, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General issued a report saying it found "significant problems" with the treatment of nearly 800 detainees nationwide, including abusive conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where Ebrahim and Baloch were held.
(* The reporter fails to list anything from the report which says that Baloch and Ebrahim were abused or that their claims are true. The reporter only quotes two words of a report- why not quote more? How many people here believe any government report is two words long?)
The report cast a critical light on the little-known federal lockup on the waterfront, and breathed life into a pending civil rights lawsuit filed by Ebrahim, Baloch and five others against Attorney General John Ashcroft, prison personnel, FBI supervisors and other officials. The plaintiffs are seeking class action status.
"What we said about all the suffering was true," Ebrahim, 31, said in a phone interview from his native Egypt. "The government was doing its best to deny it."
(* Actually, the government did its best and produced the report mentioned above. And there may be no truth to Ebrahim's claims at all.)
Both Ebrahim and Baloch were held for eight months without being charged with a crime, then were deported.
(* Actually, they were deported because they were here illegally. Though the press seems to think otherwise, it is a crime to enter and reside in the US illegally, and they were given a hearing on this, were unable to prove they had legal basis for remaining in the US, [in other words, it was proven they committed immigration violations] and they were deported.)
"I'm owed an apology," said Baloch, 41, a Pakistani-born doctor with Canadian citizenship.
(* Not if you were here illegally.)
Their lawyers have amended the lawsuit, filed last year, to incorporate the inspector general's findings. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims federal officials violated their rights by imprisoning them on the basis of their race and religion.
(* They were not detained on the basis of their race or religion. They were detained because they were illegals.)
More than 80 men designated "of high interest" in the FBI investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks were jailed at the facility in Brooklyn between Sept. 14, 2001, and Aug. 27, 2002. The nine-story facility usually houses men and women charged with federal crimes, not immigration violations.
(* Usually this might be true. But it is not relevent because it clearly IS being used to hold people with immigration violations.)
Inmates like Ebrahim and Baloch were classified "suspected terrorists" and put in high-security cell blocks normally reserved for dangerous inmates.
(* Illegals should be suspected as possible terrorists until they can be cleared. These aren't citizens, they are invaders.)
The men say they were denied access to phones and lawyers for weeks at a time, locked in tiny cells where lights burned all night, kept awake by guards pounding on their doors, put in handcuffs and shackles whenever outside their cells, and beaten at random.
(* I doubt they were denied access to counsel- other claims of such have turned out to be bogus. But I will say it may or may not be true. I won't take their word for it and would like to hear the other side's opinion of these two men's claims.)
"I was being hated by everyone around me wanting revenge for Sept. 11," Ebrahim said.
(* It is other people's right to hate you if they want to- this is no fun to experience but it isn't abuse. )
He acknowledged staying past his visa's expiration but said he did nothing else illegal.
(* BINGO.)
The abuse allegedly subsided once guards were ordered to videotape detainees outside their cells - a policy that prison officials said was designed simply to deter accusations of mistreatment. The officials cited an al-Qaida training manual that instructed terrorists to accuse their captors of abuse.
(* A reasonable precaution given that al Qaeda detainees do just that.)
Ebrahim says one guard whispered: "The camera is your best friend. If not for the camera, I would have smashed your face."
(* Hearsay, and even if accurate- and I wouldn't be surprised- it isn't "abuse.")
In interviews with the Inspector General's investigators, most guards denied any wrongdoing. But one said he witnessed guards slam inmates against walls, and "stated this was a common practice before the MDC began videotaping the detainees," the report said.
(* I've seen prisoners slammed into walls even on the very public venue of the COPS TV show, too. what exactly constitutes a "slam" is a matter of opinion, unless the prisoners were injured. When prisoners resist being cuffed, or when they spit on the cops, etc, pressing them into the wall is the quickest way to get them back under control. Trying to wrestle with a prisoner in the middle of the room will require more guards than using a wall as a backing. How come reporters NEVER write reports on prisoners' behavior against guards and cops, rarely write from the perspective of the victims, but always write from the perspective of the criminal or his defense attorney? But, it is possible that there could be some bad apples among the guards and this is what internal investigations are intended to find out.)
The guard said a supervisor told him "it was all part of being in jail and not to worry about it."
(* Reporter fails to provide any information on the numbers of prisoners injured, or if in fact the report found any prisoners were injured from being pushed against a wall.)
Justice Department officials refuse to discuss the civil suit.
Government attorneys have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing Ashcroft and other defendants are shielded by immunity laws designed to ensure they can perform their official duties "without the chill and distraction of damages suits."
Ebrahim says the distraction of the lawsuit is nothing compared to hearing a knock on his door on Sept. 30, 2001, and being hauled away for reasons he says are still unclear to him.
(* forgetful sucker, isn't he? Hello, immigration violation.)
"This is not supposed to happen in America," he said.
(* It IS supposed to happen in America. Problem is, illegals have been allowed to ignore the law too long and have come to see being here as a right. )