U.S. Report Cites Abuse of 9/11 Detainees in N.Y.
Federal prison officers in Brooklyn physically and verbally abused immigrants detained after the Sept. 11 attacks, slamming them against the wall and painfully twisting their arms and hands, the Department of Justice’s inspector general reported Thursday.
Inspector General Glenn Fine said in a 47-page report that officers also stepped on the leg-restraint chains of the detainees and punished them by keeping them restrained for long periods of time.
Videotapes showed that prison staff slammed and pressed detainees against the wall by their heads or necks. The officers denied that it ever occurred, the report said.
It also said officers improperly recorded meetings between the detainees and their lawyers.
The inspector general recommended disciplinary action against 10 current employees of the Bureau of Prisons.
Most, if not all, of the 762 detainees have been released and have been deported.
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