American Civil Liberties Union : Inconsistencies in Detainee Reassignment Procedures

There has never been a more urgent need to preserve fundamental privacy protections and our system of checks and balances than the need we face today, as illegal government spying, provisions of the Patriot Act and government-sponsored torture programs transcend the bounds of law and our most treasured values in the name of national security.

Inconsistencies in Detainee Reassignment Procedures (6/18/2003)

A September 11 detainee arrested in New York City arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) on November 5, 2001. More than six months later, on May 16, 2002, the FBI officially determined that the detainee was of "no investigative interest" regarding the September 11 attacks or terrorism in general.

However, a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Intelligence Liaison in the Strategic Information and Operations Center at FBI Headquarters wrote that "due to an internal FBI admin[istrative] error," notification from the FBI to the BOP that the detainee had been cleared was not received by the BOP until June 13, 2002. The Cooksey memorandum for this detainee issued by BOP Headquarters arrived at the MDC on June 14, 2002.

The detainee was released into the MDC's general population later that same day, more than seven months after his arrest and almost one month after the FBI had cleared him.

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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 130)

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