U.S. Report Says Sept. 11 Detentions 'Unduly Harsh'/762 Foreigners/detained as part of the investigation/WASHINGTON (Reuters)/June 2

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U.S. Report Says Sept. 11 Detentions 'Unduly Harsh'
Mon June 2, 2003 03:58 PM ET
By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreigners detained as part of the investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States were held too long without being told of charges against them and were subjected to "unduly harsh" conditions of confinement, a Justice Department audit showed on Monday.

The department's inspector general found "significant problems" in how authorities handled the 762 foreigners who were detained in cities around the United States for immigration violations during the investigation into the Sept. 11 hijacked airliner attacks.

Some detainees were locked up almost continuously, were moved around in handcuffs and leg irons, subjected to abuse and had their cell lights kept on day and night.

"While our review recognized the enormous challenges and difficult circumstances confronting the department in responding to the terrorist attacks, we found significant problems in the way the detainees were handled," Inspector General Glenn Fine said.

The department defended its actions, saying all 762 detainees were illegal aliens, and after Sept. 11 authorities were doing what was necessary to prevent future attacks.

"We make no apologies for finding every legal way possible to protect the American public from further terrorist attacks," said Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock.

Rights groups and lawmakers hailed the audit, saying abuses could be prevented if its recommendations were followed.

"The inspector general's findings confirm our long-held view that civil liberties and the rights of immigrants were trampled in the aftermath of 9/11," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont and critic of the administration's anti-terrorism tactics, said the report provided "at least a measure of accountability."

FBI NEEDED TO BE MORE CAREFUL

The 198-page report focused on detainees held in Brooklyn, New York, and Paterson, New Jersey -- two communities with large Arab populations. Fine chose the sites because they held the majority of Sept. 11 detainees and were also the focus of many complaints of mistreatment.

The report said the FBI made little effort to distinguish between foreigners who were subjects of the terrorism investigation and those found accidentally as agents involved in the investigation followed up on a lead.

"Even in the chaotic aftermath of the September 11 attacks, we believe the FBI should have taken more care to distinguish between aliens who it actually suspected of having a connection to terrorism from those aliens who, while possibly guilty of violating federal immigration law, had no connection to terrorism," Fine said.

The report said immigration authorities did not tell the detainees of the charges against them within normal specified time frames, affecting their ability to understand why they were being held, and limited their ability to obtain lawyers.

In addition the Justice Department implemented a policy of holding the detainees until they were cleared by the FBI.

"The policy was based on the belief -- which turned out to be erroneous -- that the FBI's clearance process would proceed quickly," the report said.

Instead of taking just a few days as first expected, the clearance process ended up taking an average of 80 days.

The slow process also affected the detainees' confinement, particularly at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Until they were cleared, the 84 foreigners at that facility were held under highly restrictive conditions.

For example, they were locked in their cells for at least 23 hours a day, moved in handcuffs and leg irons and allowed only one legal telephone call per week and one social call a month. In Brooklyn, prison officials kept two lights on in the detainees' cells 24 hours a day and subjected them to verbal and physical abuse.