The prison cell that's a fate worse than death: If convicted in the U.S., the jihadi 'Beatles' will be spared execution. But that would be a release compared with the mental torture of its most secure jail, writes TOM LEONARD
After just two years in Colorado's dreaded Supermax Prison, hate preacher Abu Hamza was frantically pounding on his cell door to get out, his lawyers decrying its 'inhuman and degrading conditions' and insisting he'd return to a British jail 'in a second' if he could.
Perhaps his successor in British Islamist extremism, Isis fanatic Alexanda Kotey, had Hamza's bleak fate in mind — even his famous hooks were removed from the stumps of his arms — when he recently said the 'worst thing that could happen' would be to be locked up in a U.S. jail.
Kotey and fellow British jihadi El Shafee Elsheikh face extradition to America after officials there promised they would not be put to death if convicted of barbaric crimes as members of the notorious 'Beatles' terror cell which was behind the beheading of two British aid workers and two U.S. journalists.
Grim: A Supermax cell. Since it opened in 1994 at a cost of $60 million, America's only Supermax prison, whose official name is ADX (or Administrative Maximum Facility) Florence, has housed the country's most notorious and violent criminals
Given that Hamza's offences pale beside those of 'Ringo' and 'George', as the pair were dubbed by prisoners, they will almost certainly join him at Supermax.
It's a fate that may strike many as worse than the death penalty as they are locked up to rot. Since it opened in 1994 at a cost of $60 million, America's only Supermax prison, whose official name is ADX (or Administrative Maximum Facility) Florence, has housed the country's most notorious and violent criminals.
Prisoners go to the 'Alcatraz of the Rockies' not in any hope of rehabilitation but purely for the purposes of punishment and assured incarceration.
It is designed for male inmates (there are no women) deemed the most dangerous and so contemptuous of human life that they require the tightest control. In many cases, their escape is
considered to pose a serious threat to national security.
Nobody has ever escaped from Supermax and, more to the point, few are ever heard from again once they pass through its encircling fortress of reinforced concrete walls, its fields of razor wire and gun towers. Inside, inmates begin a new life inside a tiny concrete cell with absolutely minimal human contact.
Supermax has been variously described as 'the prison of prisons', 'life after death', and a 'high-tech version of Hell, designed to shut down all sensory perception'.
Alexanda Kotey pictured above. Kotey and fellow British jihadi El Shafee Elsheikh face extradition to America after officials there promised they would not be put to death if convicted of barbaric crimes as members of the notorious 'Beatles' terror cell
If the cocky pair are expecting to enjoy their notoriety, they had better think again. Far more notorious prisoners are currently there. As well as Hamza, they include Mexican drug cartel king Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, 'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski and former Soviet double agent Robert Hanssen.
The place heaves with Muslim extremists — including Richard Reid, the British Al Qaeda 'Shoe Bomber'; Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Zacarias Moussaoui, key planner of the September 11 terror attacks.
Not that its 410 inmates — delivered to the prison in buses, armoured cars and occasionally Black Hawk helicopters — have any opportunity to fraternise.
The 37-acre facility sits 115 miles south of Denver with spectacular views of the Rockies — which the inmates cannot see. The outer perimeter is guarded by a dozen huge gun towers, 12 ft high razor-wire fences, hidden pressure pads and patrols by armed guards.
Specially designed 'control units' function as prisons within prisons. Inmates are confined in single-person, 7 ft-by-12 ft cells for 23 hours a day. The hour in which they are allowed out, always in shackles, can be spent exercising or, if they've earned the privilege, making a heavily monitored phone call.
There's no exercise yard at Supermax. Inmates exercise as they sleep and eat — alone. They are led to an outdoor cage slightly larger than the prison cells but sunk into a concrete pit resembling an empty swimming pool. It is designed to stop them working out their location and forming an escape plan.
The pit includes an exercise bar and enough space to walk ten steps in a straight line or 31 in a circle. When they're going to and from their cells, prisoners are not only accompanied by guards but monitored by hundreds of cameras and motion sensors. The prison's 1,400 steel doors open remotely and can be closed simultaneously if a panic button is pressed.
Inmates can find little comfort in their cell. The bed is a poured concrete slab covered with a thin mattress and blankets. Furniture consists of an immovable concrete desk and stool. There is also a combined lavatory, sink and drinking fountain.
Shafee Elsheikh pictured above. He faces extradition to America after officials there promised they would not be put to death if convicted of barbaric crimes as members of the notorious 'Beatles' terror cell
Each cell has a 4in-wide slit-like window angled so as neither to provide a view of the sky nor of other cells. An inmate cannot tell where he is in the prison by peering through it but merely whether it's night or day.
An en-suite shower is on a timer, the electric light can only be switched off by guards, and a black- and-white TV — showing carefully-curated educational and religious programmes — can be watched if the inmate behaves well.
Smooth concrete walls are sound-proofed to ensure inmates cannot shout or tap messages to each other. Visitors have described the silence that pervades the place as chilling and eerie.
Prisoners eat in their cells, with meals slid through holes in the doors. The food is bland even by prison standards as nothing on the menu can allow inmates to harm themselves or create unhygienic conditions in their cell.
If they do get ill, prisoners generally have to talk to a doctor by video — another effort to minimise potentially risky contact.
The Isis Beatles — reportedly responsible not just for beheadings, but also crucifixions and torture using electric shocks and waterboarding — can expect to end up in the Special H-Security Unit, also called the H-Hut.
It is reserved for prisoners whose communications with the outside world demand the strictest controls. Some of those incarcerated here don't even have contact with guards when they exercise. Their cell doors open automatically to a tunnel.
The only visitors H-Hut prisoners are allowed are lawyers and immediate family, speaking over telephones through reinforced glass windows. All conversations are monitored except official legal ones with their lawyers.
And if there's one thing on which former prison staff and inmates will generally agree, it is that Supermax makes capital punishment look the humane option. Critics have long argued its harsh regime of extreme isolation and sensory deprivation has a ruinous effect on inmates' mental health, noting that at least eight of them have committed suicide there despite the stringent precautions.
Many more, including Richard Reid, have staged hunger strikes.
'It's only my personal opinion, but I'll tell you, I don't know if anyone deserves to be in a place like this,' said Robert Hood, warden at ADX Florence from 2002 to 2005. 'There's no other way to say it — it's worse than death.'
Inmate Eric Rudolph, who bombed an Atlanta car park while the city was hosting the summer Olympics in 1996, once claimed that the isolation was driving him insane. 'It is a closed-off world designed to isolate inmates from social and environmental stimuli, with the ultimate purpose of causing mental illness and chronic physical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis,' he said.
Abu Hamza pictured above. After just two years in Colorado's dreaded Supermax Prison, hate preacher Abu Hamza was frantically pounding on his cell door to get out, his lawyers decrying its 'inhuman and degrading conditions' and insisting he'd return to a British jail 'in a second' if he could
A 2014 report by Amnesty International entitled Entombed: Isolation In The U.S. Federal Prison System claimed Supermax breached international law.
'It's only my personal opinion, but I'll tell you, I don't know if anyone deserves to be in a place like this,' said Robert Hood, warden at ADX Florence from 2002 to 2005. 'There's no other way to say it — it's worse than death.'
Each cell has a 4in-wide slit-like window angled so as neither to provide a view of the sky nor of other cells. An inmate cannot tell where he is in the prison by peering through it but merely whether it's night or day.
'Part of the plan here is sensory deprivation,' said Charles Harrelson, the father of Hollywood star Woody Harrelson who was also a professional killer and Supermax inmate. 'I'm unable to exercise any control over anything outside this cage. I simply do my best with what I have.'
He eventually gave up even taking his hour of exercise, staying in his room and reading books or listening to the radio.
A 2014 report by Amnesty International entitled Entombed: Isolation In The U.S. Federal Prison System claimed Supermax breached international law.
Two years earlier, a class action lawsuit on behalf of mentally-ill prisoners claimed many of them 'interminably wail, scream and bang on the walls of their cells' or mutilate their bodies with whatever objects they can find.
The prison's defenders have pointed out that, at least, Supermax hasn't suffered the savage violence that has ripped through other U.S. prisons and, given the distancing of prisoners, has so far come through the coronavirus pandemic unscathed.
'George' and 'Ringo' were members of a gang who, even by the crazed standards of Isis, were vicious jailers to their terrorised Western captives. Spending the rest of their days in Supermax may be brutal but it's certainly fitting.
The Western hostages captured, tortured and killed by the beheading gang
American journalist who kept up fellow prisoners' morale
James Foley, from Illinois, USA, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012
James Foley, from Illinois, in the US, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012.
On his way to an internet cafe, while reporting for the GlobalPost, he had been taken hostage at gunpoint by militants from the group Jabhat al Nusra in Taftanaz, northern Syria.
Jabhat al Nusra subsequently joined forces with ISIS - which did not exist in anything like its current form when Mr Foley was taken.
Mr Foley joined other prisoners, who were European and British, in the ISIS prison and despite attempts to rescue him, he was eventually murdered by his captors.
His fellow prisoners spoke kindly of Foley, who called people 'Bro' and never argued over shortages of food, despite meagre rations equating to cup of food-a-day, often sharing his portion and his blanket.
Mr Foley often made efforts to maintain prisoners' morale, persuading them to play games and to give talks on their favourite subjects.
He even organised a 'Secret Santa' during Christmas 2013, encouraging hostages to make gifts out of whatever they could find.
ISIS posted his execution video, titled 'A Message to America' to social media as proof of his death.
In scripted remarks before his killing, kneeling in an orange jump suit, he said: 'I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again.
'But that ship has sailed. I guess all in all I wish I wasn't American.'
'The guy lit up a room': US freelance journalist who was an avid rugby player
Steven Sotloff, 31, from Miami, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, vanished in Syria in 2013
US journalist Steven Sotloff, 31, vanished in Syria in August 2013.
Mr Sotloff was not seen again until he appeared in a video released online by ISIS on August 2014, that showed James Foley's beheading.
In a second clip, published weeks later, entitled 'A Second Message to America,' Mr Sotloff appeared in a orange jumpsuit before he is beheaded by an Islamic State fighter.
The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Mr Sotloff grew up Miami, before attending the Kimball Union Academy boarding school in New Hampshire before studying at the University of Central Florida.
While at Kimball, Mr Sotloff was an avid rugby player and on moving to UFC began working for the student newspaper there, the Central Florida Future.
He left this paper in 2005 and began to pursue his dreams of journalism full time.
'The guy lit up a room. He was always such a loyal, caring and good friend to us,' former roommate Josh Polsky told the New York Times.
'If you needed to rely on anybody for anything he would drop everything on a dime for you or for anyone else.'
Sotloff travelled to the Middle East as a freelance journalist and wrote reports from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Turkey and Syria.
He often had pieces in Time and Foreign Policy magazines.
'A million people could have told him what he was doing was foolish, as it seemed to us outsiders looking in, but to him it was what he loved to do and you weren't going to stop him,' his friend, Emerson Lotzia, said.
'Steve said it was scary over there. It was dangerous. It wasn't safe to be over there. He knew it. He kept going back.'
British taxi driver who volunteered as an aid worker
Alan Henning, a father-of-two, was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013 as he delivered aid to Syrian refugees
Alan Henning, a father-of-two, was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013 as he delivered aid to Syrian refugees.
The taxi-driver, from Manchester, was kept hostage until he was beheaded by Jihadi John on video in October 2014.
Before he was killed, Mr Henning was forced to tell the camera that he was being murdered in retaliation for parliament's decision to attack ISIS.
Originally from Salford, he had seen the suffering first hand during a life-changing visit to a refugee camp, which inspired him to help the innocents whose lives were being wrecked by the conflict.
After volunteering with a Muslim charity, the 47-year-old agreed to drive 3,000 miles in a convoy of old ambulances to help the aid effort and take much-needed medical supplies to hospitals in the northern Syrian province of Idlib.
Known as 'Gadget' to friends and family for his fondness for technology, Mr Henning had been washing cars in the UK to raise money for donations before setting off on his fourth visit to the country.
He travelled with eight others from charity Al-Fathiha Global, who intended to deliver vital equipment, including NHS ambulances packed with baby milk, nappies, food and defibrillators, but was kidnapped by ISIS extremists on Boxing Day, shortly after making the 4,000-mile journey to the town of Al-Dana.
A fan of Phil Collins, which he enjoyed playing as he drove, Mr Henning was incredibly popular and during one trip insisted on sleeping inside his ambulance instead of a hotel to save money so it could be donated to the refugees instead.
Kasim Jameel, leader of the convoy on which Mr Henning was travelling when he was kidnapped, described his friend as a 'big softie.'
Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, who was also in the convoy, said Mr Henning was 'remarkable.'
'He's such a compassionate and selfless human being,' she said. 'It just simply wasn't enough for Alan to sit back and just donate or raise awareness.
He had to get up and do something about what he'd seen Every time the convoys went he had a yearning to go. That really motivated him, to see, practically, first-hand the difference he was making.'
Scottish father-of-two who spent his career as an aid worker
David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John
David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John.
The father-of-two, from Holderness, East Yorkshire, was taken hostage while working for relief agency ACTED in Syria in March this year.
He was captured near the Atmeh refugee camp, just inside the Syrian border with Turkey.
Mr Haines spent his career as an aid worker helping to protect innocent civilians in developing nations.
For more than two decades, he travelled with aid agencies through Syria, Libya, the former Yugoslavia and South Sudan.
He dedicated his life to promoting peace in places of violent conflict and oversaw projects to save civilians from land mines.
The 44-year-old was described as a hero by his family, who were inspired by him to travel the world on further aid missions.
He had a teenage daughter in Scotland from a previous marriage with his first wife, and a four-year-old daughter, Athea, in Croatia from his second wife.
Mr Haines was brought up in Perth, Scotland, and studied at Perth Academy before joining the military aged 17.
According to his online CV he spent 11 years in the military, holding 'various positions covering security and threat assessments in a number of different countries' between 1988 and 1999.
It did not specify with which armed forces he served, although his ISIS execution video claimed he had been in the Royal Air Force.
His brother Mike later confirmed this, saying he was an engineer.
26-year-old who was helping refugees while living in Beirut
Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old from Indiana, was beheaded by ISIS executioner Jihadi John in November 2014
Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old from Indiana, started a non-profit organisation called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA).
The Iraq war veteran, who was living in Beirut to provide relief for refugees of the Syrian crisis, was beheaded by ISIS executioner Jihadi John, in November 2014.
Writing on his profile page on fundraising website FundRazr, Mr Kassig said he had previously worked as a medic in a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon.
He said: 'When I first started this cause to help those in need, I was on my own but I saw first-hand the shortages in available resources and supplies for people who were suffering in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey as a result of the violence.
'The amount of feedback and support from people all around the world motivated me to get organised and develop a platform through which people could send donations to support the continuation of my work.'
Kassig joined the U.S. Army Rangers in 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007.
He was honourably discharged for medical reasons after a brief tour and returned to the United States to study political science.
However, in 2010, he decided to take time off from his studies and began his certification as an emergency medical technician.
He then decided to travel to Beirut to try and help those in need as a result of the Syria crisis.
It was after a short time in the country that he started up his own aid group, SERA.
Few details are publicly known about how Kassig was taken captive.
The 26-year-old humanitarian who said there was always light in darkness
Kayla Mueller, 26, was kept as a sex slave by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi
American Kayla Mueller was a humanitarian aid worker who was kidnapped and taken hostage in August 2013 after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria.
She was kept as a sex slave by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who raped her repeatedly during her captivity.
The fanatics reportedly demanded 5 million euros from Mueller's family, telling them that that they would send a picture of her body if they were not given money.
Kotey has admitted having contact with her, adding: ‘I took an email from her myself. She was in a room by herself that no one would go in.'
Her death was reported in February 2015 and her name was used as the codeword for the daring US raid that killed her once captor.
Kayla’s body has never been found and her parents live in hope her remains will be recovered.
Mother Martha said: I want people to see the light in Kayla in such utter darkness, how she just said there is always light.
"And I also want people to see that she even told people that as far as where she was, maybe she was supposed to be there, this is where she was supposed to be all along. She always wanted to help.’
No comments: