Skip to main content /US
CNN.com /US
CNN TV
EDITIONS





COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

Treatment of detainees under review

Treatment of detainees under review


From Jonathan Aiken
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department's inspector general is investigating the treatment of the more than 1,200 Muslims arrested in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks, the office said Wednesday.

The probe follows months of allegations by civil-rights advocates that those detained since last fall are being deprived their legal rights. Many of those arrested are said to be of Arab and South Asian descent, leading some immigration attorneys to accuse federal authorities of racial profiling.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the inspector general's office said it will focus on the treatment detainees received in two facilities -- the Passaic County Jail in Paterson, New Jersey, and the Metropolitan Detention Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Attack on America
 CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT
 CNN NewsPass Video 
Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998
 MORE STORIES
Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects
Report cites warnings before 9/11
 EXTRA INFORMATION
Timeline: Who Knew What and When?
Interactive: Terror Investigation
Terror Warnings System
Most wanted terrorists
What looks suspicious?
In-Depth: America Remembers
In-Depth: Terror on Tape
In-Depth: How prepared is your city?
 RESOURCES
On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands?
On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

The MetDet, as it is known, is a federal facility operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Passaic jail is a county facility.

The Justice Department refused to specify the number of detainees still being held in connection with the terrorist attacks. Amnesty International estimates about 300 are currently in custody in the United States.

Fewer than 100 prisoners are considered "material witnesses" by federal prosecutors and face possible criminal charges.

Many more detainees have been held under the Immigration and Naturalization Service's jurisdiction. The INS has already returned some former prisoners to their home countries.

The inspector general will assess how the Justice Department complied with "laws, regulations and policies that protect the civil rights of the detainees," the statement said.

Specifically, the office plans to review the "detainees' access to counsel, timeliness of presentation or disposition of criminal or other charges, and physical detention conditions."

The USA Patriot Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush last fall, charges the inspector general with protecting civil liberties, the office said.

A Justice Department spokesman offered no timetable for its conclusion.



 
 
 
 






RELATED STORIES:
RELATED SITE:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.


 Search   

Back to the top