Thursday

detainee suicide

NEW JERSEY CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENSE COMMITTEE

NJCRDC was deeply outraged to hear of the suicide of Mr. Heq Sung Soo at Passaic County Jail on Wednesday, February 16, 2005. But we were not surprised.

The negligent treatment by ICE, all the hospitals involved and the Passaic County Jail led to the death of an innocent man who could not speak English and was systematically denied appropriate medical care. The only possible result of holding innocent people as criminals without access to constitutional protection is torture and death.

The death of Heq Sung Soo is nothing less than a war crime. Those who lead ICE and Passaic County Jail must be held legally accountable for this death and all the illegal detentions of immigrants which have effectively shredded the Bill of Rights. We cannot remain silent without being stripped of our humanity.

NJCRDC continues to document horrible conditions at Passaic County Jail. Like Heq Sung Soo, many other detainees there are systematically denied appropriate medical care. They sleep in containers on the floor due to overcrowding. They are physically and mentally abused by jail guards and officials. Although the use of dogs to terrorize and torture has stopped, no one responsible has been prosecuted, and reports of beatings and abuse continue. Only the freeing of all the detainees and the end of the practice of detention without charge will stop the ongoing abuse, torture and death.

We call for an immediate investigation of all parties involved in Mr. Heq Sung Soo’s death.
We call for an immediate termination of ICE’s contract with Passaic County Jail.
We call for the immediate release of all the detainees.
We must stop the torture now before another innocent person dies.

To read the statement from Passaic County Jail on Mr. Heq Sung Soo's death, visit our website at www.nj-civilrights.org
P.O. Box 353
Piscataway, NJ 08855-0353
www.nj-civilrights.org

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