Protesters taken to the detention facility known as Gitmo on the Platte were subjected to conditions that violated their constitutional rights and induced some of them to plead guilty, the American Civil Liberties Union charged today.

"The combination of the conditions at (the detention facility) and the lack of any confidential consultation with attorneys may have put undue pressure on those arrested to plead guilty to charges simply to escape confinement," ACLU attorney Taylor Pendergrass said in a letter to city officials.

The ACLU told city officials that these problems "must be cleared up immediately."

Calls for comment to the city attorney, director of corrections, safety manager and mayor's spokesperson were not immediately returned Wednesday evening.

Pendergrass said the ACLU is concerned about "systemic and pervasive violations of constitutional and statutory rights" of the detainees.

Prisoners were denied phone calls and access to attorneys at the detention facility at 38th and Steele streets, violating their "most basic rights," he said.

They also were kept hand-cuffed in pairs, even after they were put in cells, he said.

"Even more shocking, however, was that deputies refused to release persons from flexi-cuffs for the purpose of using the bathroom," Pendergrass said. "Thus arrestees that had to use the restroom were forced to do so while flexi-cuffed to another person."

Prisoners also had a number of mistaken beliefs about their rights and possible legal ramifications which could have been cleared up if they had access to attorneys, the ACLU said.

A number of them reported believing they were separated from other arrested protesters because the city had identified them as organizers or ringleaders.

"After spending hours on the road, arrestees were transported to the detention facility where they sat in ice-cold pens for hours without blankets, unable to sleep, unable to use the bathroom except with another person, some unable to make phone calls, Pendergrass said.

They were given pre-printed forms that indicated they were charged with numerous crimes and believed they faced "years" in jail.

"It's not surprising" that they jumped at pleading guilty to a single charge, he said.

"It cannot be underestimated how gravely and seriously the misinformation provided by the city, the denial of telephone access, the denial of confidential attorney visits ... and the conditions of confinement and general fatigue prejudiced the rights of these arrestees and their ability to rationally and knowingly make informed decisions about the charges brought against them," Pendergrass told the city.

The city assured the ACLU that 60 people an hour could be processed at the facility. But some prisoners waited eight hours to be transported to court and the last of them were being seen by judges nearly 12 hours after they were detained, said ACLU legal director Mark Silverstein.

The ACLU said it is also investigating the circumstances of Monday's mass arrest. Pendergrass said none of the legal observers or other interviewed witnesses who were present heard the order to disperse.

Police also refused their requests to leave the area, he said.