In a settlement over an abuse lawsuit, the U.S. government will pay $1.2 million to five Muslim immigrants who said they were unjustly detained after 9/11 in a Brooklyn, N.Y. prison. According to the New York Times, the prison held hundreds of non-citizens for months before they were deported after being cleared from terrorism links.

“I believe a settlement of this size is a deterrent to the United States from ever again rounding up innocent non-citizens based only on suspicion about their race and religion,” said Rachel Meeropol, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents the detainees, to the Times.

While Meeropol is content with the settlement, one of the five Muslims represented in the case said to the Times that the settlement was an act of reluctant compromise, as there has been seven years full of motions, cross-appeals, and delays.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs detail their unjust experiences, saying that they were treated abusively as soon as they got to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They were chained and shackled, then slammed face first into a wall with an American flag t-shirt taped to it. Whenever they left their cells, the detainees were cursed at as terrorists and then shoved into walls. The escort officers would twist their fingers and wrists, and stepped on their chains so they would trip.

According to the Times, several of the guards have been disciplined and several have also been convicted of beating the inmates, including a captain. This case is part of a larger lawsuit, Turkmen v. Ashcroft, that argues that the roundups of non-citizens and the treatment they received are unconstitutional.

In the latest settlement, which was filed on Monday, the government does not admit any fault or liability, the Times reported. Charles S. Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department, said the government will not comment.

Our Take:

First of all, that I believe it’s ridiculous for the judge in this case to rule that the U.S. had wide right in detaining any immigrant without explanation, based only on their origins, race, or religion. Yeah, that’s not prejudiced at all. Way to be rational and democratic.

And so he allowed the abusive claims to stand for the lawsuit. I do think that those five immigrants just did not want to deal with this anymore, seeing as how the courts keep prolonging the case, and looking from past decisions. It’s clear that they will not get what they’re seeking for. That money is such a tiny amount; does the government think that will make up for the bad treatment, and being unjustly detained? Maybe they do think that. It’s scary and sickening at the same time.