Witness to Abuse - Human Rights Watch

Harassment and Abuse in Jail
Many material witnesses told HRW/ACLU that they were subjected to derogatory
comments by prison guards. More troubling, several material witnesses claimed they
were physically abused while in federal custody. 130 They also felt humiliated by what they
considered gratuitous strip searches by multiple guards, often in public places. Albader
al-Hazmi, held as a material witness at MDC Brooklyn told HRW/ACLU:
I was searched naked many times sometimes twice daily in front of
many guards. The guards, they were enjoying searching us naked. When
they felt like it they would beat us. … One of the guards said to me
while beating me say thanks to Allah. 131
Some witnesses told HRW/ACLU that many guards assumed they were convicted
terrorists and insulted their race and religion. Ayub Ali Khan, who was also held in the
Special Housing Unit in MDC Brooklyn, faced continuous hostility from the prison
guards for over a year. He said:
I was transferred to a cell with six or seven guards to solitary
confinement in the Special Housing Unit, or the “ninth floor hole.” The
room was maybe six-by-five feet. I was in small cell for twenty-four
hours a day with the lights on. Guards came every ten to fifteen minutes
and banged on the door. They look through the hole and stare and
looked at me. For two months, I left the cell only for interrogations.
Later I was allowed outside after two months but they would leave me
out in the freezing cold.
I didn’t sleep for one or two months. The guards would bang on the
door all night.
They would say, “This is the guy—the Taliban guy,” or call me “Khan
Taliban.” The guards said so many bad things. They told me: “You
won’t ever see your family. You’re going to die here. Do you smell the
130
Physical and verbal abuse of some material witnesses is included in “Presumption of Guilt;” see the cases of
Tony Oulai and Osama Awadallah, p. 73-75.
131
Interview with Dr. Albader al-Hazmi. See also Pierce, “Coming Home.”
43 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17, NO. 2(G)