Tag Archive for Federal Bureau of Prisons

A Look Inside “Little Guantanamo”: Communication Management Units and Terrorist Inmate Surveillance

Several restricted intelligence reports from the Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons obtained by Public Intelligence detail the incredible levels of surveillance conducted on inmates convicted of terrorism offenses. In particular, the reports detail inmates stored in secretive units known as “Communication Management Units” (CMU) which have been widely criticized by the ACLU and other human rights groups for placing severe restrictions on the activities, as well as visitation and communication rights of inmates housed in the facilities.

(U//FOUO/LES) Federal Bureau of Prisons Counter-Terrorism Unit Inmate Spying Reports

The following documents contain analysis of the monitoring of communications made by inmates convicted of offenses related to domestic and international terrorism. Many of the inmates are housed at the Communications Management Units in Terre Haute, Indiana (THA CMU) or Marion, Illinois (MAR CMU). These secretive units have been described by inmates as “Little Guantanamo” due to their unusual construction and treatment of detainees, severely restricting access to the public and media. For background information, see the June 25, 2009 Democracy Now interview with Andrew Stepanian, an animal rights activist imprisoned at one of the Communications Management Units.