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Detainee Released
Rosendo Lewis released from detention
We are very happy to report that Rosendo Lewis was released from detention at Bergen County Jail on Wednesday, March 9. As reported by NJCRDC in July (see our newsletter) and by El Diario and NPR in November, Rosendo was attacked by dogs while in detention at Passaic County Jail. All the members of NJCRDC wish him a long life of liberty and happiness.
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A Human Rights Crisis
Immediate Action Needed
Please call government officials today demanding the release of Mr. Madani Ba. Madani, a 54 year-old from Mali.
Full Information
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Meeting
New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee Meeting
Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 7:30 PM
Christ Church
5 Paterson Street
New Brunswick, NJ
Focus: Continued planning for OIG visit
Witness Training will be provided at this meeting
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Tribute to Farouk Abdel-Muhti
WBAI to honor Farouk Tuesday morning, April 12
In honor of the one year anniversary of his release from detention, WBAI’s Wake-Up Call (99.5 FM in New York, www.wbai.org) will honor Farouk Abdel-Muhti this Tuesday, April 12th, at 6:15 am. This will be an extended segment where his life will be discussed and WBAI will re-broadcast some of his interviews with them, both before and after his release.
Read Statement Honoring Farouk
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OIG Audit expected to begin in May
Witnesses Are Still Needed for Office of Inspector General Interviews
Due to the large number of complaints of abusive and inhumane conditions, a team of auditors from Office of Inspector General, a congressional oversight committee of the Department of Homeland Security, will be conducting an audit of conditions in Passaic and Hudson County Jails. The auditors plan to interview detainees who are currently in these facilities or have been there in the past. The NJCRDC will be meeting with the senior auditor, Ronda Richardson, prior to these interviews. A witness from NJCRDC will be present at the interviews at the detainee's request. To make this possible, we need volunteers who can act as witnesses.
The visit of the OIG has again been postponed. The current tentative start of the Hudson County Jail audit is in May. Although the repeated postponements have been frustrating for all of us who are working to assist in the audit, we believe that the delays are due to the thoroughness of the auditors in their current work in Leesport, Pennsylvania. We expect that their work in New Jersey will be equally thorough. Therefore, we ask all of you to bear with us, continue to help us organize, and volunteer to be a witness if you can.
If you can help, please contact us at
info@nj-civilrights.org or come to our April 26 meeting.
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Suicide at Passaic County Jail
NJCRDC Statement on Suicide at Passaic County Jail - February 17, 2005
NJCRDC was deeply outraged to hear of the suicide of Mr. Heq Sung Soo at Passaic County Jail on Wednesday, February 16, 2005. But we were not surprised. The negligent treatment by ICE, all the hospitals involved and the Passaic County Jail led to the death of an innocent man who could not speak English and was systematically denied appropriate medical care. The only possible result of holding innocent people as criminals without access to constitutional protection is torture and death.
The death of Heq Sung Soo is nothing less than a war crime. Those who lead ICE and Passaic County Jail must be held legally accountable for this death and all the illegal detentions of immigrants which have effectively shredded the Bill of Rights. We cannot remain silent without being stripped of our humanity.
NJCRDC continues to document horrible conditions at Passaic County Jail. Like Heq Sung Soo, many other detainees there are systematically denied appropriate medical care. They sleep in containers on the floor due to overcrowding. They are physically and mentally abused by jail guards and officials. Although the use of dogs to terrorize and torture has stopped, no one responsible has been prosecuted, and reports of beatings and abuse continue. Only the freeing of all the detainees and the end of the practice of detention without charge will stop the ongoing abuse, torture and death.
We call for an immediate investigation of all parties involved in Mr. Heq Sung Soo’s death. We call for an immediate termination of ICE’s contract with Passaic County Jail. We call for the immediate release of all the detainees. We must stop the torture now before another innocent person dies.
Additional Information
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Press Release
Immigration Authorities End Torture-by-Dogs of Detainees in US Jails
The immigrant rights’ movement won a significant victory when the Dept. Of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm directed that all jails in the US holding immigrant detainees cease to use dogs around the detainees. View the December 6 NJCRDC
press release
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NPR Reports
Daniel Zwerdling Reports on Immigrant Detainees at Passaic and Hudson
November 17 and 18 on "All Things Considered", Daniel Zwerdling reports on immigrant detainees at Passaic and Hudson County jails in New Jersey. Featuring interviews with Rosendo Lewis, who was attacked by dogs at Passaic, Hemnauth Mohabir, and other detainees. You can listen to show at Part I (11/17/2004)
Part II (11/18/2004)
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El Diario Reports
Eva Sanchis Reports on Immigrant Abuse
November 18 and 19 in "El Diario/La Prensa", Eva Sanchis reports on immigrant abuse at Passaic and Hudson County jails in New Jersey. Featuring testimoney of Rosendo Lewis, Mark Gary Hough, and Hemnauth Mohabir. Read the reports.
Spanish
More
English
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DETAINEE NEWSLETTER
NEW! Issue 2
Read and Distribute the Detainee Newsletter
Issue 2
Issue 1
This newsletter is a way to spread the word, by encouraging detainees to speak out and by making their stories available to a wider public.
We ask all our members and friends to help with the distribution of this newsletter. Please feel free to download a copy, e-mail it to friends and other organizations, print it, place it in public places, mail it, read it at local gatherings. Only with your help can we stop these injustices.
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WE MOURN THE PASSING OF FAROUK ABDEL-MUHTI, July 21, 2004
New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee is deeply saddened by the death of Farouk Abdel-Muhti. Comrade Farouk was a tireless advocate for oppressed immigrants and workers everywhere. Here in New Jersey he fought against his illegal and unconscionable detention in Middlesex, Passaic, Camden and Bergen County Jails by organizing the detainees to stand up and fight back. In all these jails Farouk lifted the spirits of the detainees by organizing meetings, helping them get legal representation and urging them to overcome their fears and stand up for their rights. He was an individual guide and mentor, who helped his brothers through crises he deeply, all too deeply, understood. The INS (now ICE) punished Farouk by holding him in solitary confinement for 8 long months and constantly moving him throughout the jail system. Even though Farouk suffered greatly during his jail time he continued to work for justice, not just for himself but always for his brothers around him. This trag
Additional Statements
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JULY 18 MARCH IN FREEHOLD A GREAT SUCCESS
150 people attended the rally and marched -- through the rain -- to the muster zone. We had great press coverage -- Univision, National Public Radio, El Diario, Hoy, Asbury Park Press, Freehold News Transcript
We successfully linked together the attacks on immigrant communities and the resistance movement that is fighting back and winning.
We also successfully linked together the need for a joint movement -- immigrant and native born. There were signs about this, lots of speakers talked it and we even had a chant -- free, free the detainees, immigrant, citizen, UNITY
More news and photos soon
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JOURNALIST FROM SIERRA LEONE DEPORTED, SAFETY AND WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
Paul Barrow, a journalist who escaped from Sierra Leone in 1992 for
fear of his life, has been deported. He was taken from his cell at
Hudson County Correctional Center at 5 AM on Saturday, June 26. His
family received a brief phone call from him in the early hours of
June 27. Since then, there has been no word from him. Paul feared
torture and death upon his return.
Read the
Home News
Tribune story
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STATEMENT ON TORTURE AND THE DETENTIONS
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RECENT NEWS
Incidents of Abuse at Hudson County Jail
Read Letter to BICE & Jail Officials
** On March 1st, 2004, at 5:30 pm at least three correctional officers Sergeant House, Officers Friday and Vargas severely physically assaulted two detainees. Reports were made to Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants, Families for Freedom, New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee and North Jersey ARA about the attack and the four groups collectively notified the American Civil Liberties Union-NJ and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (legal counsel for one of the assaulted detainees, Sadek Awad). Officers reportedly repeatedly punched, kicked, and stomped an inmate in the face, back, shoulders, neck and groin, breaking three of his teeth. Another detainee was banged against the wall, punched and kicked in the ribs, face, back, and legs (which had just been operated on). Both of these unprovoked incidents took place in front of all the inmates in B 100 West. Both were initially denied proper medical care, and the first inmate was hurriedly transferred to MiddlesexCounty jail, wh
**Weeks prior, an immigration inmate housed with a Federal inmate was charged with having contraband in his cell, despite assurances from the Federal inmate that the contraband was his. The immigration inmate was sentenced to 15 days in the "hole" (solitary confinement). The "contrabands" turned out to be vegetables.
Incidents at Passaic County Jail
**Over the past month an HIV positive immigration inmate has been receiving his medication on such an irregular basis that it renders the medication useless. The detainee has complained multiple times and asked for regular distribution of his medication but this has been denied.
**There has been an ongoing pink eye epidemic within the immigration detainee units over the past two months. One detainee’s eyes became so swollen that he was unable to see. Initially the detainees with pink eye were given drops but this only lasted a brief time. For the last several weeks detainees have been reporting that they are receiving no medical treatment for the pink eye infections even after requesting medical assistance repeatedly. The extremely unsanitary conditions in the jail appear to be exacerbating the spread of infection.
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NEWS UPDATE
Update on Mohamed Abu Shaker
Mohamed Abu Shaker, a Palestinian from Paterson, NJ, who was being held by the INS on no charges was deported to the Gaza Strip on December 3rd. Thank you to all the people who tried to intervene on Abu Shaker’s behalf. We must stop the deportation of innocent Palestinians back to the warzone in the Middle East. Mohamed Abu Shaker’s family is in Canada and needs financial assistance. If you are interested in helping out please contact NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee at info@nj-civilrights.org
Emergency Response System Up and Running!!
Within hours of its launch, probably owing to its announcement in a number of media venues including Spanish-Language television, the Emergency Response System (ERS) Hotline of the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee (NJCRDC), has been flooded with calls. For our latest Media Release please click here. We are in need of more volunteers to handle the phone system. For more information contact info@nj-civilrights.org
NJCRDC spokespeople indicate that they are not surprised at the extent of the need for immigration information services. They feel compelled to stress, however, the EMERGENCY ONLY purpose of their telephone hotline: to provide witnesses for anyone app roached by the FBI or the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( BICE, formerly INS) who feels confronted with an immediate threat of detention or arrest. They are concerned that the hotline may be seriously handicapped in its primary function by callers who use it instead for routine immigration questions.
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NEWS
On Dec. 1, the DHS "suspended" the special registration program, in
effect ending it. Officially, they are ending re-registrations of
those already registered, but it really ends the program,
since registrations now occur only upon entry.
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The NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee's Emergency Response
System is functional! We have already notified AP, Telemudno and New
York Press and will be getting a general press release out by Friday. Thanks
to all who have made this possible.
In addition, yesterday the Defense Department announced that Yassir
Hamdi, one of the two "enemy combatants" would be allowed access to a lawyer.
Successful Launch to Detention Hotline
The Detention Hotline, a joint project of NJ Civil Rights Defense
Committee and CAIR-NJ went into effect today. The hotline
was publicized by WNYC, The New York Times, Telemundo, and The Home News
and Tribune. Please see the AP story below. People affected by
detentions from all over the East Coast called into the hotline
seeking assistance. The hotline, which will
enable the civil rights community to respond quickly
to detentions, was flooded with calls throughout the first day of
its operation. If you would like to become part of this important
project please contact NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee at
info@nj-civilrights.org or 646 -247-3238.
WE NEED SPANISH SPEAKERS for our Emergency Response hotline.
If you can help please contact NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee at
info@nj-civilrights.org
PLEASE HELP
WE NEED SPANISH SPEAKERS for our Emergency Response hotline.
If you can help please contact NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee at
info@nj-civilrights.org
**On October, 20 people testified at the Passaic Freeholders meeting demanding they terminate their contract with the INS. The testimony included statements written by the detainees themselves about the abuses going on within the Passaic County Jail and the INS system.
**Due to pressure we have brought on Passaic County Jail over the conditions in the jail the facility is now being shifted to a transfer point. We are setting up an 800# for the detainees to call us 12 hours a day from the jail.
**Nigel Maccado's hunger strike was successful in winning him a new trial on his asylum claim and a bond hearing!
**Hemnauth Mohabir's hunger strike was successful in helping him get an incredible attorney from Legal Aid who has been fighting for him to stay in this country.
**We are working on setting up an Emergency Response System for people to contact us when the FBI or INS come to their door.
Organizing gets results... but it takes a lot of work. We have done a lot of work but there is still a lot of work to do. We need your help! Come to a meeting, join a committee, get involved.
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In The NewsMar. 12, 2005
Judge rules businessman must leave
Home News Tribune
Story
Mar. 11, 2005
Deporting Lin would be unjust
Home News Tribune
Op-Ed
Feb. 25, 2005
Carcel de Passaic en la mira
El Diario
Story
Feb. 20, 2005
Brooklyn's Abu Graib
New York Daily News
Story
Feb. 16, 2005
Recently released from prison, Cuban refugees who came to the United States in the 1980 Mariel boatlift are left to fend for themselves
The Times-Picayune
Story
Feb. 15, 2005
12 Cuban detainees released in Newark following court ruling
Star-Ledger
Story
Feb. 12, 2005
Testimony danger is cited
Home News Tribune
Story
Jan. 25, 2005
Immigrant may get Feb. ruling
Home News Tribune
Story
Jan. 25, 2005
Expert: If deported, man faces torture
The Star Ledger
Story
Jan. 24, 2005
A Cry for Mercy
The Star Ledger
Story
Jan. 23, 2005
Tiananmen organizer faces U.S. expulsion
The Star Ledger
Story
Jan. 12, 2005
Supreme Court Limits Detention of Immigrants
The Boston Globe
Story
Dec. 17, 2004
Borough backs store owner in deportation fight
Home News Tribune
Story
Dec. 7, 2004
Detainee rights battle
The Bergen Herald
Story
Dec. 7, 2004
Jails must stop using dogs near immigration detainees
News Day (Associated Press Article)
Story
Dec. 6, 2004
Celebran triunfo de inmigrantes
El Diario/La Prenza
Story
Nov. 18, 2004
Perros para torturar a detenidos
El Diario/La Prensa
Story
Jun. 29, 2004
Journalist Deported
Home News Tribune
Story
May. 23, 2004
Journalist from Sierra Leone fears Deportation and Reprisals
Home News Tribune
Story
Mar. 14, 2004
Inside Guantanamo
The Observer
Story
Mar. 14, 2004
Inside Guantanamo
The Observer
Story
Feb. 16, 2004
Detainees in, out of county jail
The Herald News
Article
Feb. 3, 2004
Professors take aim at Patriot Act
The Morning Call
Article
Feb. 1, 2004
AFTER THE WAR
Herald News
Story
Dec. 31, 1969
Detainee Newsletter
NJCRDC
Article
Dec. 31, 1969
Detainees gain shield from dogs
Star-Ledger
Story
Dec. 11, 2003
Call To Liberate Detained Aliens
Newsday (STAFF WRITER)
Story
Dec. 8, 2003
Southern Discomfort: Local Deportees Sent Out of State
City Limits WEEKLY
Story
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