Solitary confinement

===Suppressing protest===

Solitary confinement has been used to punish and suppress organizing, activism, and other political activities in carceral facilities, a practice that has drawn criticism from human rights watchdogs and other concerned groups.<ref name = hungerstrikers>{{cite web |title=Behind Closed Doors: Abuse and Retaliation Against Hunger Strikers in U.S. Immigration Detention |url=https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/aclu_phr_behind_closed_doors_final_1.pdf |publisher=ACLU and Physicians for Human Rights |access-date=28 June 2023 |date=2021}}</ref> In [[Immigration detention|immigration detention centers]], reports have surfaced that immigrant detainees are being [[Immigration detention in the United States#Solitary confinement|placed in solitary]] to keep those knowledgeable about their rights away from other detainees.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Homer|last1=Venters |first2=Dana|last2=Dasch-Goldberg |first3=Andrew|last3=Rasmussen |first4=Allen S.|last4=Keller |title=Into the Abyss: Mortality and Morbidity Among Detained Immigrants |journal=[[Human Rights Quarterly]] |date=May 2009 |volume=31|number=2|pages=474–495 |doi=10.1353/hrq.0.0074 |s2cid=143979116 }}</ref> Individuals who go on [[hunger strike]] to protest poor conditions in immigration facilities are also frequently placed in solitary. Although immigration officials have claimed that their policy of isolating hunger strikers is for the protection of the detained person, medical and legal experts have pointed out that there is no medical basis behind the policy, and that, in the United States, it constitutes a violation of the detainee's [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] rights.<ref name = hungerstrikers />

Solitary confinement is similarly used as retaliation in prisons and jails, including against [[whistleblower|whistleblowers]] who raise awareness of inhumane conditions and [[jailhouse lawyer|jailhouse lawyers]] who assist others in litigating their rights.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gladden |first1=Alex |title=Prisoner advocate says inmate put in solitary for talking to reporter |url=https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2023/05/12/prisoner-advocate-says-inmate-put-in-solitary-for-talking-to-reporter/70212678007/ |website=Montgomery Advertiser |access-date=29 June 2023 |date=12 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Roxanne |title=Jailhouse Lawyers Are Often Punished With Solitary Confinement |url=https://solitarywatch.org/2021/12/22/jailhouse-lawyers-are-often-punished-with-solitary-confinement/ |publisher=Solitary Watch |access-date=29 June 2023 |date=22 December 2021}}</ref> There have been further reports of people being placed in solitary based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Kayla |last2=Vanko |first2=Elena |title=The Impacts of Solitary Confinement |url=https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/the-impacts-of-solitary-confinement.pdf |publisher=Vera Institute of Justice |access-date=29 June 2023 |date=April 2021}}</ref>