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<font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<br><br>
CONTACT: Jen Nessel, 212.614.6449<br><br>
</font>David Lerner, Riptide Communications, Inc., 212.260.5000<br><br>
<br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b><u>FOUR MEN DEPORTED AFTER
9/11 RETURN TO NEW YORK TO PURSUE SUIT AGAINST U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR
ABUSE<br><br>
</u><i>Bureau of Prisons Disciplines Officers from Metropolitan Detention
Center Three Years Later<br>
</b></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>January 23, 2006,
New York, NY</i></font> – The unusual depositions of four men suing the
U.S. government for unlawful imprisonment and abuse in the wake of the
September 11 attacks began this morning, according to their attorneys at
the Center for Constitutional Rights. CCR’s class action,
<i>Turkmen v. Ashcroft</i>, was filed in September 2002 to challenge the
arbitrary detention and mistreatment of immigration detainees by prison
guards and high level Bush Administration officials. With no
evidence of any connection to terrorism, hundreds of Arab and South Asian
Muslim men were rounded up on the basis of racial and religious profiling
and subject to unlawful detention and abuse at the Metropolitan Detention
Center in Brooklyn, NY. All of the men were eventually deported,
but after long and complicated negotiations, four of the plaintiffs have
returned under strict conditions to participate in their case against the
government. The depositions will take place over the next two weeks in
New York City. Further depositions of both plaintiffs and
defendants will take place in the coming months.<br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
In the <i>Turkmen</i> suit, CCR challenges the unconstitutional detention
of non-citizens arrested on civil immigration charges but held for
investigation into potential ties to terrorism long after their
immigration issues were resolved and until they could be cleared of any
connection to terrorism. The suit describes the inhumane and
degrading treatment they suffered, including solitary confinement, a
complete blackout on communication with their families and attorneys,
excessive strip searches, severe beatings by guards, incessant verbal
abuse, and deliberate interference with their religious practices.
<br><br>
<br><br>
The four men, Yasser Ebrahim, Asif-ur-Rehman Saffi, Hany Ibrahim and
Ashraf Ibrahim, will be barred from speaking to anyone outside of the
case while they are here, including family members and friends in the U.S
and the content of their . They will be deposed by attorneys from
the Department of Justice, and attorneys for the individual defendants
named in the suit. <br><br>
<br><br>
Despite the fact that the allegations of inhumane and degrading treatment
have been substantiated by two reports of the Justice Department’s Office
of the Inspector General, discipline has been slow in coming from the
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Department of Justice Inspector General
Glenn Fine, testifying before Congress in June 2005, criticized the long
delay and urged expeditious and appropriate action in disciplining at
least 10 of those responsible. Today, the Center for Constitutional
Rights welcomed news that disciplinary actions had finally been taken by
the Bureau of Prisons: so far, in December 2005 and January 2006,
five men from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) have been
disciplined for their role in the abuse: two were terminated,
two were suspended for 30 days, and one was demoted. More actions
may be pending.<br><br>
<br><br>
CCR Legal Director <b>Bill Goodman</b> said, “<i>Our clients have
returned to the U.S. to fight for justice. They were deprived of
their rights and abused simply because of their ethnicity and religion,
and we at the Center for Constitutional Rights are determined to
challenge the unlawful actions of those responsible. Former
Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller were among the
architects of the plan to deprive these individuals of their rights, and
we plan to hold them accountable in this lawsuit.” <br><br>
</i> <br><br>
CCR attorney <b>Rachel Meeropol</b> said, “<i>To our knowledge, there has
never before been a case where immigrants who had been deported were
allowed to return to the country to participate in a lawsuit, and we look
forward to using their time here to strengthen our case against
defendants</i>.”<br><br>
<br><br>
<i>“While the three-year delay in taking disciplinary action remains a
major concern, we commend the Bureau of Prisons for finally disciplining
some of the guards who participated in this outrageous abuse,</i></font>”
said CCR attorney <b>Matthew Strugar</b>.<b> </b>“<i>It means a lot to
our clients that finally someone is being held accountable for the
brutality they experienced, but we believe the responsibility for these
abuses goes further up the chain of command at the Bureau of Prisons and
we are disappointed more individuals have not yet been held
accountable. ”<br>
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