WASHINGTON - The largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States (US) filed a lawsuit against prison officials in Alaska. The lawsuit was filed on charges, allowing Muslim prisoners to starve and give them pork during the breaking of the Ramadan fast.
The lawsuit filed the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on behalf of the two Muslim prisoners who suffered at the Anchorage Prison Complex. The party being sued is an Alaska Department of Correction (DOC) officer.
In its lawsuit, CAIR accused prison officials of violating the constitutional rights of Muslim prisoners. According to CAIR, the Muslim prisoners received discriminatory treatment, which is not fed the number of calories required during Ramadan.
Lena Masri, national litigation director for CAIR, said in a release that the Constitution prohibits forced prison inmates to be differentiated between faith and their food rations.
"We hope that the courts will take firm action against Anchorage Correctional officials to ensure that Muslim prisoners are not starving or forced to violate their faith principles during the holy month of Ramadan," Masri said.
The pork to be given to the Muslim prisoner in a sandwich.
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According to CAIR, US District Court judges for Alaska have granted their lawsuit on Thursday (24/05/2018). The judge has ordered prison officials to stop giving Muslim prisoners pork as they break their fast during Ramadan.
"CAIR has reported an unprecedented surge in bigotry targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as President," the Washington-based organization said in a statement, quoted by AFP on Friday (25/5 / 2018).
During Ramadan, Muslim inmates at Anchorage Prison fast for about 18 hours a day. The plaintiffs complained that the rations they received were equivalent to 1,100 calories per day or much less than the recommended daily amount of about 2,500 calories for male prisoners.
According to the plaintiffs, the ration package contains food made from pork, which is forbidden in Islam. Thus, the nutritional value of edible food is insufficient.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Hough, the standard administrator for DOC denied that sandwiches for Muslim prisoners contained pork.
The CAIR also calls for Muslim prisoners to be given balanced nutrition, demanding policy changes and compensation and punitive damages. Ramadan starts on May 16 in the United States and ends around June 15th.
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