This archive report was first published on 23 May 2020.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in US federal prisons, concerns are growing for the health of convicted drug traffickers Baktash and Ibrahim Akasha, who are serving long sentences in facilities hit by outbreaks.
According to the US Bureau of Prisons, a total of 59 inmates have died from Covid-19, with another 1,735 federal inmates and 191 federal prison staff members testing positive for the virus.
The Akasha brothers' current health status is unknown, although Baktash is said to suffer from physical conditions that increase his susceptibility to the virus. Baktash is incarcerated in a correctional complex in Louisiana, where eight prisoners have died from the virus, while Ibrahim is housed in a detention centre in Brooklyn, New York, that has recorded no inmate deaths or current infections.
US Bureau of Prisons spokesman Emery Nelson stated, “We do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any specific inmate,” in response to a query regarding the Akashas' health.
Attorneys for the brothers have also declined to comment on their clients' medical status, with George Goltzer, a New York attorney representing Baktash, stating, “I have no further comments on the case or his status in prison.” Bernard Alan Seidler, a New York attorney representing Ibrahim, said he has not spoken with his client since March 1 and has no information on Ibrahim's current condition.
The Bureau of Prisons lists Baktash's release date as May 21, 2038, while Ibrahim is scheduled to be let go on September 5, 2036. The brothers pleaded guilty last year to multiple felony charges involving a conspiracy to smuggle heroin and methamphetamines into the United States.
