This smells extremely fishy. Why isn’t anything being done to bring him home?
On the morning of Feb. 21, an American official with the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait paid a visit to Jermaine Rogers, a 41-year-old U.S. Army veteran incarcerated at Central Prison, a notorious jail complex on the outskirts of Kuwait City. Last year, Rogers’ sentence — for the crime of possessing seven grams of cocaine — was reduced from death by public hanging to life in prison. He has been behind bars for two and a half years and maintains his innocence. According to Rogers, the Embassy official brought with him a printed copy of a Task & Purpose article, titled American Veterans Say They’re Being Abused In A Kuwaiti Prison And The Government Hardly Cares, which had been published the day before — and he wasn’t happy.
The story of Rogers’ arrest and his family’s ongoing struggle to secure his transfer to the U.S. figured prominently in the article, alongside stories of other American defense contractors imprisoned in Kuwait for drug offenses. All said they were victims of a corrupt justice system that bestows prestige on police who arrest Americans. In interviews and emails shared with Task & Purpose, inmates and their families also expressed deep frustration at a perceived lack of support from the State Department and their employers. (Rogers was supporting U.S. military operation in Kuwait as a contractor with General Dynamics, which fired him three days after his arrest.) Those complaints, Rogers said, are what the embassy official had come to see him about.
“They were a bit upset they received criticism,” Rogers said in a WhatsApp message to Task & Purpose on Feb. 26. “[The consulate official] was extremely standoffish in how he spoke to me. I tried explaining just how bad the situation has become…he said to me that they had other things and people to see…literally they stayed for 15 [minutes].”
Rogers served in the Army for eight years and was honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2002. He is a father of five and has no criminal record in the U.S.
Task & Purpose’s Feb. 20 report counted a total of five American defense contractors serving lengthy sentences in Central Prison. Rogers said he knows of eight, including himself — seven men and one woman. All, he said, are African American. Two former inmates Task & Purpose spoke with for the Feb. 20 article are also African American, as are two women — Monique Coverson and Larissa Joseph — who were released from Central Prison in 2016 after serving 11 months on what turned out to be bogus drug charges. Most are U.S. military veterans.
We contacted Rogers after being notified that he had obtained a contraband cell phone. In a series of text exchanges with Task & Purpose, Rogers spoke at length about his arrest, trial, and imprisonment. Many of Rogers’ claims have not been independently verified by Task & Purpose; the purpose of this Q&A is to give Rogers a chance to tell his side of the story.
A U.S. State Department representative declined to comment directly on Rogers’ allegations. “We work with prison officials to ensure treatment consistent with internationally recognized standards,” the representative said, adding, “We monitor conditions in foreign prisons, advocate for appropriate medical attention, and may protest allegations of abuse against U.S. citizen prisoners when requested to do so by the prisoner.”
Save for a miracle, Rogers — who is rated 70% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs and suffers from kidney disease resulting from a rare genetic disorder called Alport syndrome — will likely die in Central Prison, which human rights organizations have described as severely overcrowded and unsanitary. The Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
First, what steps can we to take to ensure you don’t get in trouble for speaking with us?
Believe me, Adam, I don’t care about the trouble and abuse anymore. There’s nothing more this corrupt and dirty system can do to me that they’ve not already done.
You said the U.S. consular official was upset about our article. Did he specify what upset him?
He said that I had received special treatment when I was first sentenced to the death penalty, because the embassy made three phone calls to my mother and Karina [Jermaine’s fiancee], and they didn’t have to do that. Although, I know and everyone knows that the U.S. Embassy and government can do way more.
What else did you discuss with him before the meeting was cut short?
I was trying to explain to them that I don’t know what medications the [Kuwaiti prison doctors] are giving me and that they don’t work at all. I just put them in a bottle and stopped taking them. So I was trying to tell them about that and also the fact that I’m in the hallway, sleeping on the floor. The only clothes I’ve got is two pair of underwear, two shirts, one pair of shorts, and two pair of prison pants — and I’m hand-washing with bar soap.
You say everyone knows that the U.S. embassy and government can do more. Have you seen them do more before?
Before eight years ago, all Americans had direct phone numbers to the U.S. Embassy for all situations, and also the U.S. Embassy used to provide lawyers and legal counsel for all Americans. Even the lawyers here always ask us to get the U.S. Embassy involved. There is an American in another [cell] block, who has been here eight years — Jekenya King. He has seen it firsthand, as well.
So there’s yourself, Jekenya King, Gabriel Walker, and Tyrone Peterson. Do you know the names of the other Americans in Central Prison?
Lamar, Perry, and Justin. I’m not sure their last names. Lamar and his wife were both given 15 years. She’s in the women’s prison. All have crazy sentences — 15 or 20 years, nothing less so far. All crazy drug charges.
All are African American?
I’ve tried to not bring the racial portion in here but yes. We had one gentleman here last year, [name redacted], who was charged with using crystal meth and sentenced to five years. He stayed 11 months and was then deported. I don’t know how that happened. I saw him in the hallway before he was released. He was Caucasian.
The Kuwaiti authorities and media have portrayed you as a drug kingpin arrested for trafficking and manufacturing massive amounts of drugs. What’s your side of the story?
A Syrian guy who was friends with my roommate was caught with Spice, like synthetic marijuana. From what I understand, the police went through his phone records and got his name and text messages, and then the guy brought them to our apartment. They raided my apartment and found two bags of Spice in my roommate’s room. That was it. Then I had herbs and different seasonings in the cabinet — literally, cooking seasonings and herbal tea. Have you seen my arrest picture?
Yes. That’s a lot of drugs and money.
If you see the picture it looks like I’m the biggest drug dealer in the world. Truth is, all this stuff was not drugs and not even mine. My charge is 7 grams of cocaine. All the stuff you see was tested and thrown out except one bag that contained 7 grams of cocaine.
Was the cocaine yours?
I’ve never touched cocaine or drugs or anything else. All those items you saw was ordered off Amazon.com. Some for me and some even for my dogs. I’m a health food naturalist. [The cocaine] was planted by the CID [Kuwaiti Criminal Investigations Department]. It is common knowledge that this is a tactic used by CID to guarantee a conviction.
I heard a rumor that there’s a YouTube video of you showing Kuwaiti police how to make drugs. Does this video exist? I wasn’t able to find it.
One second. I’ll send it…