From: Dr. Rafil Dhafir, 11921-052, FCI-Fairton, PO Box 420, Fairton NJ 08320
To a friend. November 28, 2005:

…So far I am not happy here, but things hopefully will change. I am allowed to receive unlimited mail and pictures.

I am locked in 23 hours a day and 24 hours a day on weekends. The treatment has been nasty so far. I wish Ms. Gewanter [Director of ACLU-CNY] and Human Rights Watch could come see the misery here. Sometimes I feel like I am in GITMO or even Abu Ghraib. Jamesville was heaven compared to where I am right now. I don’t know why they mistreat me. I just got here, never even spoke to them. It seemed that they were waiting for their ‘catch’.

I am not complaining just to let you know. Sooner or later all the misery will end and there will be peace, an eternal peace, but I have to wait for God to intervene and put justice where it belongs. Until then I will continue to pray…

Rafil

Excerpt from an email to Katherine from someone familiar with the facility:

“I am familiar with the facility where Dr. Dhafir is being held. It was constructed in the late 1980’s and is near Vineland, NJ, which is basically in the middle of nowhere.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons deliberately builds facilities in these remote locations. It discourages visits and provides a pool of employees who literally have no other employment opportunities. It is kind of like sending someone to Siberia.”
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10/6/06 Update on prison conditions can be found at the end of this post.