Monday, January 28, 2008

from

the cool justice report
Via Hartford Business Journal http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news4373.html
i had NO idea this was happening in our fair state (so it's happening ALL over). shocking

OUTRAGEOUS & DESPICABLE: Connecticut Gulag
Connecticut's Secret Prisoners Contract With Feds Codifies Secret Political Prison System AG’s office contests FOI Cover documents about federal detainee sheld in state prisons By Laura Schreier Hartford Business Journal Staff Writer 01/28/08
Federal officials admit they keep detainees in covert prisons around the world, most notably at Guantanamo Bay, where many were held for years before their names were released to the public. But it comes as a surprise to some state officials that federal detainees are also held, secretly, right here in Connecticut. It’s all part of a contract between state and federal authorities: In exchange for a per-inmate fee, state officials agree to house federal prisoners arrested by homeland security. Connecticut has had such a contract with the federal government since 1995, but it was only after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that new regulations clamped down on information about those prisoners. According to legal arguments by state Assistant Attorney General Henri Alexandre, state authorities are prohibited from releasing any information about the federal detainees held behind bars in Connecticut prisons. That means that Connecticut could be holding detainees at any time, without a formal charge, said Lisa Siegel, counsel with the state’s Freedom of Information Commission. “This is a surprise to all of us, that there are secret prisons [in the state],” Siegel said. “The real harm of this regulation is that people are held now — we can’t get any information on them.” ...........

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