The top U.N. investigator on torture claims the United States is stonewalling his probe of conditions at American prisons. Juan Méndez said he has been refused permission to visit state and federal prisons nationwide.

Juan Méndez: “They said that federal prisons were unavailable, and I’ve sought to clarify what they mean by 'unavailable,' because, you know, I cannot accept an invitation to, say, go to the California prisons, if the federal prisons are off-limits to me, because, you know, if I do that, then every country has every right, like Gambia, for example, to say, 'Yeah, you can visit these prisons, but not this maximum security wing.' And so, I fully expect the United States to secure invitations from state prisons to me, but also to be able to visit federal prisons, as well.”

Méndez says he is particularly concerned with the solitary confinement subjected to some 80,000 prisoners. He also says the United States continues to thwart his bid to investigate Guantánamo Bay by imposing “unacceptable” conditions on his visit.