Chicago Black Site Denies Detainees Access to Lawyers - Legal Aid Provider

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) used an abandoned warehouse at Homan Square as a site to interrogate criminal suspects, British media revealed in late February. The detained were reportedly beaten and held for prolonged periods of time without being given access to a lawyer.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — Chicago police severely violated detainees' right to legal representation in 2013, and the Homan Square atrocities are the result of this abuse, First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA), which provides free lawyers to people in Chicago Police Department custody, told Sputnik.

"In 2013, only about 2 out of every 1000 people held at any Chicago police department facility had an advocate in the building at any point of their detention," Eliza Solowiej, FDLA executive director, told Sputnik.

Those who were not lucky enough to have a lawyer defending their rights were left alone with police and prosecutors in breach of their right to legal representation, according to Solowiej.

"Homan Square is an example of what happens when there is no access to an abstract right and police investigations go unchecked," the FDLA executive director noted.

Demanding the truth and expecting change, activists in Chicago organized several rallies earlier in March. They blamed Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and US President Barack Obama for the facility's operations and called for its closure.

The Chicago Police Department denied evidence that physical violence is a part of interviews with suspects, and emphasized the facility's role as a special unit headquarters.

Currently, First Defense Legal Aid is the only way for detainees in Chicago to access a free lawyer within the first 48 hours following their arrest, as public defenders are only appointed later, in court.