* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *

23 October 2001
AMR 51/152/2001 
186/01


Amnesty International is calling for all those detained during US
police investigations into the 11 September attacks in New York
and Washington to be treated with full respect for their rights
under US law and international standards.

     The organization is disturbed by reports that many
individuals arrested in the wake of these attacks were denied
prompt access to lawyers or relatives. In some cases there were
delays in gaining information on the whereabouts of detainees.

     Prompt access to counsel for detainees is a basic right
under international standards, and an important safeguard against
abuse, even during emergency situations.  It is particularly
important to ensure these rights are upheld in the present
situation, in which police have been given new powers to hold
people for questioning for an extended period without charge.

     Amnesty International is also concerned by the physical
conditions of some of those in custody, which may violate
standards for humane treatment.  Two men held in solitary
confinement in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York,
for example, are reportedly denied exercise; given certain foods
which they cannot eat on religious grounds; kept in cold cells,
with only one blanket; subjected to full strip searches twice a
day despite having non-contact visits; and are shackled hand and
foot whenever they are taken from their cells.

     These conditions appear to be unduly punitive, especially
as the two men had not been charged with an offence but were
being held as material witnesses. In some respects their
treatment, and that of others held in local jails, has been worse
than for convicted prisoners.

     Other cases include a Saudi national being held for a
week in a Dallas jail without a mattress, bedding, blanket, cup
or clock. His conditions improved only after appeals by his
attorney to the regional immigration services director who
intervened directly with the jail.

Background
More than 700 people, mainly of Arab or Middle Eastern origin,
have been arrested and detained in the USA in connection with the
criminal investigation into the attacks in New York and
Washington on 11 September.  Many of them are being held under
new powers to detain non-citizens for 48 hours or longer in
emergencies, and many were reportedly held for immigration
violations.

     In some cases lawyers of individuals charged, or held as
material witnesses to a criminal investigation, have been
subjected to "gag" orders which prevent them from reporting on
the proceedings in the case.  There have been complaints by civil
rights attorneys about the difficulty of getting information
about many of those detained.

     The US Congress is currently considering draft
legislation which would, among other things, allow for detention
for up to seven days without charge.

     International standards provide, among other things, that
all arrested or detained persons should be treated humanely; that
they shall have prompt access to a lawyer and the right to
communicate with their families; that foreign nationals should
have the right to notify consular staff or a national
organization that can provide assistance; and that anyone
arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be promptly
brought before a judge or judicial authority.

     Standards for the treatment of prisoners stipulate that
all prisoners should receive at least one hour=s daily outdoor
exercise; that restraints should be used only when strictly
necessary and that chains and irons should not be used as
restraints.


****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main
text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting
Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the
list subscription message may be removed.
****************************************************************