- Turkmen v. Ashcroft
"Turkmen v. Ashcroft" is an ongoing class action civil lawsuit filed by the
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) against the then-Attorney General John Ashcroft ,FBI Director Robert Mueller , former INS Commissioner James Ziglar, and employees of theMetropolitan Detention Center (MDC) inBrooklyn, New York , on the behalf of a number of Muslim, South Asian, and Arab non-citizens who, under the pretext of immigration violations, were held in detention for several months.The lawsuit charges that the
Immigration and Naturalization Service unlawfully held the plaintiffs for the months that theFBI took to clear them of links to terrorism, several months after their immigration cases were completed; violating their rights under the first, fourth, and fifth amendments. Furthermore, the suit charges that some of these detainees were improperly assigned to the Administrative Maximum Special Housing Unit (ADMAX SHU); kept in solitary confinement with the lights on all day; placed under a communications blackout so that they could not seek the assistance of their attorneys, families, and friends; subjected to physical and verbal abuse; forced to endure inhumane conditions of confinement; and obstructed in their efforts to practice their religion.References
External links
* [http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/turkmen-v.-ashcroft "Turkmen v. Ashcroft] at the Center for Constitutional Rights website
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