Naval Consolidated Brig, Charleston
Encyclopedia
Military prison
A military prison is a prison operated by the military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, enemy combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime...
. The brig, Building #3107, is located in the south annex of Joint Base Charleston
Joint Base Charleston
Joint Base Charleston is a United States military facility located in North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 628th Air Base Wing, Air Mobility Command...
in the city of Hanahan
Hanahan, South Carolina
Hanahan is a city in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 12,937 at the 2000 census. Portions of the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, including the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston, are located in Hanahan. As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
The Brig was commissioned on November 30, 1989 and accepted its first prisoners in January 1990. It has 400 cells and can hold 288 inmates. It houses prisoners from all branches of the US Armed Services and conducts the Navy’s Violent Offender Treatment Program. It has been accredited by the American Correctional Association
American Correctional Association
The American Correctional Association , formerly known as the American Prison Association, is the oldest and largest international correctional association in the world. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and youth services are active participants...
six times: 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007.
The brig recently housed several enemy combatants, including Yasser Hamdi, José Padilla and Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri
Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri
Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri is a citizen of Qatar who was arrested on charges of being a sleeper al Qaeda agent while studying at Bradley University in the United States. After denying any wrongdoing since his arrest, al-Marri pled guilty in a plea agreement to the federal charges on April 30, 2009...
.
Al-Marri was the last of the three to remain at the brig, being transferred to a civilian prison after he pled guilty in 2009.
In October 2008 91 pages of memos drafted in 2002 by officer at the Brig
became public.
The memos indicate that officers were concerned that the isolation and lack of stimuli were driving Hamdi, Padilla and Al-Marri insane.
On October 12, 2011, the Charleston Post and Courier reported on memos from E.P. Giambastiani to Charles Stimson
Charles Stimson
Charles Douglas "Cully" Stimson is a former American political appointee at the Pentagon. Stimson was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs...
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs
The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs is a political appointment created by United States President George W. Bush. The appointee has responsibility for captives apprehended during the "war on terror"....
, requesting that Hamdy, Padilla and al Marri be transferred to Guantanamo.
The memos were from 2005.
Giambastiani's request was declined.
The memos were released to the Post and Courier in respons to a Freedom of Information Act request, filed eight years previously, for information about changes to the role of the prison triggered by al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001. They wrote that when the DoD's response was finally received, "A Pentagon official apologized but gave no explanation for the long delay."