Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside a “CMU”

In a Democracy Now! exclusive interview, we speak with Andrew Stepanian, an animal rights activist who was jailed at a secretive prison known as a Communication Management Unit, or CMU.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder and the Federal Bureau of Prisons challenging the legality of two secretive prison units in Indiana and Illinois.

English: Federal Bureau of Prisons (seal) Español: El escudo de la Agencia Federal de Prisiones (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The prisons, known as Communication Management Units, are designed to severely restrict prisoner communication with family members, the media and the outside world.

Most of the prisoners held in the CMUs have been Muslim men, but the units have also held several non-Muslim political activists, including environmental and animal rights activists.

In 2006, Andrew Stepanian was sentenced to three years in prison for violating a controversial law known as the Animal Enterprise Protection Act.  – Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside a “CMU”