Caged in “Guantanamo” North
Inhumane Imprisonment
Pre-Trial Solitary Confinement
Shifa was in solitary confinement in a cell the size of a bathroom from August 2006- December 2009 in Atlanta, GA. He was in solitary confinement before and throughout his trial. He lived in a cell that had improper ventilation, a very small window that was blackened to prevent light, and a small slot on the steel door to pass meals that were electronically monitored. He remained in his cage 23 hours a day, day in and day out, with one hour for recreation time in solitude. He had little interaction with anyone other than prison staff. Visits, telephone calls, and mail from family and friends were severely restricted and monitored, as were educational, recreational, and religious services. He was deprived of almost all sensory stimulation from the external environment. His right to Islamic Friday worship, a mandatory congregational religious service for Muslim men, was denied by the government in solitary confinement. Shifa endured psychological torture for three (3) years in the US federal prison. In 2008 Shifa was assaulted at the federal prison.
Government Bars Shifa from Telling the Truth About Inhumane Pre-Trial Solitary Confinement and Prison Assault to the Jury.
Books Shifa Read in Solitary Confinement in Atlanta, GA
Nationally Renowned Lawyer Laura Rovner Speaks About America's Solitary Confinement
Guantanamo North
Communications Management Units - CMUs
Shifa was sent to the Communications Management Units from 2010-2018. CMUs are inside the Federal Bureau of Prisons; they are racialized prisons that restrict imprisoned Muslims communications with the world. These units in the federal prison system were created in conditions of secrecy, without any public notification. There are two such units, located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Marion, Illinois, and Shifa was imprisoned in both. Shifa’s family, like other families, was required to schedule their visit in advance so that authorities can ensure appropriate personnel were available to listen in live during their visitations. Unlike other state and federal prisons where the warden is in charge of daily operations, CMUs are special administrative units under the direct control of the Federal Bureau of Prisons office in Washington, D.C. Those held in CMUs lack privileges and are also subjected to constant audio and video surveillance. While direct violence is applied to the bodies of Muslims in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other offshore extra-judicial prison camps, the CMU units also operate and exert a more sanitized version of this violence through confinement on Muslims, including those who are US citizens like Shifa.
Shifa’s emails to family from the CMU
A LETTER FROM A PRISONER TO SHIFA’S SISTER ABOUT THE CONDITION OF IMPRISONED MUSLIMS IN THE CMU IN 2012
Shifa’s emails to family from the CMU
Guantanamo North
Communications Management Units - CMUs
Daniel McGowan, an Environmental Activist and Former Political Prisoner, Who Was Imprisoned with Shifa, Shares About CMUs
Investigative Journalist Will Potter is the Only Reporter to go Inside the CMUs