TINY VIOLIN

Tsarnaev Held in Extreme Isolation

Even by federal prison standards.

On the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, a New York Times report on accused terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reveals how he is separated from most basic human interactions during his time in a federal medical facility in Massachusetts. While imprisoned under “special administrative measures” approved by Attorney General Eric Holder, he is not allowed to speak or pray with other prisoners, nor write more than a single letter each week that is three pages long (double-sided). Tsarnaev is allowed one phone call a week, and it can only be to his family. When he reads newspapers or magazines, classified ads are removed because the government fears they could be used to transmit coded messages to him. The American Civil Liberties Union tried to fight against these special administrative measures in court but has been unsuccessful.