ICYMI: Amnesty International Wants To Look At El Chapo's Jail

MANHATTAN, NY — Amnesty International wants to take a look at "El Chapo's" cell.

The human rights group is asking to look at conditions at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center, where notorious drug lord Joaquín Guzmán is being held while he awaits trial on a slew of federal charges.

The nonprofit sent a letter to federal prosecutors on Tuesday requesting the opportunity to inspect the lower Manhattan facility and the conditions of his confinement specifically. Guzmán, who is more commonly known by his nickname "El Chapo," was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. in January.

Amnesty said in the letter that it is "concerned that the conditions imposed on [Guzmán] appear to be unnecessarily harsh and to breach international standards for humane treatment."

The nonprofit cited reports from Guzmán's lawyers that he is held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in a cell that always has its lights on.

In a related court filing this week, Guzmán's attorneys argued that he is subject to the most extreme conditions of any federal prisoner in the U.S.

" Mr Guzmán is being held under the worst, most restrictive conditions of any prisoner currently detained by the United States government," his attorneys said in documents filed this week.

The U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to comment on the letter, but on Friday a judge granted prosecutors' request to formally respond to the concerns by April 7.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas director at Amnesty, said the group has monitored the federal facility in Manhattan for years.

"Amnesty International has a long-standing history of advocating for the human rights of prisoners, particularly of those in solitary confinement," Guevara-Rosas said in a statement.

"We will continue to investigate cases of alleged improper treatment of prisoners, regardless of who the prisoner is or what they may have done."

The detention center, located at 150 Park Row in lower Manhattan, houses about 800 people, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Lead photo via Day Donaldson/Flickr.