November 4 2001 (...) No one has been charged with conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks. Nearly eight weeks into this country's largest criminal investigation, most of those detained remain in federal prisons, county jails and Immigration and Naturalization Service detention centers. Most of them also remain anonymous, their status and whereabouts unknown to lawyers, families and their home governments.
The Times has studied the cases of 132 detainees, interviewing defense lawyers, diplomatic officials and some of the released detainees, and reviewing court records and other documents.
The analysis reveals a broad pattern in which federal agents are using the full extent of their law enforcement authority to sweep up individuals, question them and hold them for long periods. In many cases, when individuals are found to have no connection to terrorism, they are turned over to immigration authorities, where they often are held indefinitely.
Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft has repeatedly denied that detainees' constitutional rights are being violated, and Justice Department officials reiterated that position last week.
Mindy Tucker, chief Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to say how many of the 1,147 people have been released but said "a majority" of them are still being held. She said that most are being held on federal, state and local criminal charges unrelated to Sept. 11; that 185 are being held by the INS; and that authorities have "a small number of material witnesses" related to the terrorism.
Officials also have emphasized the dual role of their investigation: to arrest those responsible for planning and carrying out the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and to find any others who may be preparing strikes.
An FBI affidavit, obtained by The Times, is being used as a standard court document to persuade judges to keep detainees in custody. It argues that individuals should not be released prematurely because, first, "to protect the public, the FBI must exhaust all avenues" of its investigation.
But because of the lack of information, immigration law experts say they cannot determine whether the government is following the law or ignoring it. (...) -----------------------------------------