Hunger Strike to Protest Excessive Punishment for Immigration Violations

A September 11 detainee arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York (MDC) on February 17, 2002, and began a hunger strike in late March 2002. According to the Administrative Maximum Special Housing Unit (ADMAX SHU) reports, the detainee began his hunger strike to protest his confinement in the ADMAX SHU instead of the MDC’s general population and because of the MDC’s limitation on visits and telephone calls. The detainee also was upset because he was not allowed to see his wife until she proved that she was married to him.

MDC staff began checking the detainee’s blood sugar levels daily and offered him liquid nutritional supplements when he refused his ninth consecutive meal. By April 2, 2002, the detainee had missed a total of 17 consecutive meals. We could not determine how many more meals he missed because the next available ADMAX SHU report was dated April 6, 2002, and contained no mention of the continuing hunger strike. Therefore, we infer that the detainee ended his hunger strike sometime before April 6, 2002.

The detainee told the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that he could not pinpoint the date he ended his hunger strike because he did not have access to a calendar.

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Source:

• Office of Inspector General, Department of Justice, “The September 11 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11 Attacks,” OIG report, June 2003. (Page 157)