|
Comment on this article |
Email this Article
|
|
News :: Miscellaneous |
|
Canadian Citizen Jaoudat Abouazza Tortured in US Jail -- AUDIO |
Current rating: 0 |
by wajid
Email: madison (nospam) indymedia.org (unverified!) |
26 Jun 2002
|
An interview with Amer Jubran, member of the Jaoudat
Abouazza Defense Comittee. On June 16, Jaoudat had four
teeth removed against his will by a dentist at the Bristol
County Jail in Massachusetdat in jail. He speaks here of
the torture and efforts to investigate it.
(mp3, 21.4 megabytes, 14:51 minutes) |
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO AUDIO FROM IMC-MADISON:
http://madison.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/metafiles/062502jaoudattorture.mp3
On the morning of Sunday June 16, Jaoudat Abouazza was
restrained in a chair and tortured by a physician while in
INS detention at the Bristol County Correctional Facility
in North Dartsmouth, Massachusetts. The physician, aided
by a prison guard, forcibly removed four molars from
Jaoudat's mouth, ignoring his protests and breaking a tooth
in the process. In great pain and still bleeding, Jaoudat
was given cotton gauze and returned to his cell. One of
the sockets became infected, and it was days before Jaoudat
was administered antibiotics, only after the intervention
of the Canadian Consulate. No report was filed diagnosing
a medical necessity for the removal of his teeth, and at
present, the government only admits to removing one molar.
Jaoudat Abouazza is a Canadian citizen. He was stopped by
the Cambridge police and found to be driving without a
valid drivers license. He was sent to INS detention on the
night of May 30. During his time in jail, Abouazza has
been subjected to physical abuse, verbal harrassment,
solitary confinement, threats, and now torture.
Alarmingly, Abouazza's arrest occurred the same day as the
arrest of another foreign-born Palestinian rights activist
in Illinois: Ahmed Bensouda. Both arrests came on the
heels of high-profile Palestinian activist Faruk
Abdel-Muhti's arrest in New York.
Jaoudat Abouazza has been a visible activist for
Palestinian rights in the Boston area. Jaoudat's
supporters are convinced that his treatment is an attempt
to intimidate activists and silence growing public protest
over the racist and genocidal campaign of the Israeli
government against Palestinian people.
In the week following Jaoudat's torture, he was visited by
members of Amnesty International, the American Civil
Liberties Union and the Canadian Consulate, who all witnessed his missing teeth and lobbied for the
administration of antibiotics for his infected jaw.
Investigations are proceeding. Jaoudat has legal
representation, but he has faced at least seven FBI
interrogations without the presence of his lawyer. When he
has refused to answer questions in the absence of his
lawyer, he's been placed in solitary confinement.
Though extreme, Mr. Abouazza's situation is unfortunately
not unique. Pakistani immigrant Mohammed Butt died in a
New Jersey detention center last fall, and when relatives
conducted an autopsy upon the arrival of his body in
Pakistan, they determined the cause of death to be massive
internal injuries due to beatings. More cases of INS
detainees being beaten, threatened and harassed are coming
to light as prison support groups make contact with a wave
of detainees imprisoned in recent months.
Amer Jubran, another prominent activist for Palestinian
rights, has visited Jaoudat numerous times. He saw Jaoudat
the day of his torture and has since returned twice with
Amnesty Internationl, the ACLU and Canadian officials.
This audio is a segment of a long interview about Jaoudat's
case. Mr. Jubran begins the interview with a description
of their visit on Sunday June 16, hours after the torture.
Discussion includes details of the government's claims,
speculation about the political nature of the case, and
efforts to support Jaoudat.
Jubran worries that Jaoudat's situation and health are
precarious and urges the public to send letters of support
to Jaoudat, as well as letters of protest to the INS at the
following addresses:
SUPPORT:
Jaoudat Abouazza
Bristol County Jail and House of Correction
(North Dartmouth)
400 Faunce Corner Road
North Dartmouth, MA 02747
UNIT#: 1 West
ID#: 120541
(include unit and id #'s on lower left of envelope)
PROTEST:
USINS District Director Steven J. Farquarson
Room 1700, JFK Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203
MORE INFO:
http://boston.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=6935&group=webcast
http://atlanta.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=5880
|
See also:
http://www.iacboston.org/answer
|
