http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22783023/ <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22783023/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22783023/> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22783023/
Justices rule against Muslim inmate Prisoner sued after Quran disappeared in transfer between prisons The Associated Press updated 8:37 a.m. MT, Tues., Jan. 22, 2008 WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said Tuesday that a Muslim inmate cannot sue the government over the disappearance of the prisoner's copies of the Quran and a prayer rug. In a 5-4 ruling, the justices said the federal law the inmate relied on prohibits lawsuits against federal corrections officers. Abdus-Shahid M.S. Ali says the missing books and rug reflect widespread harassment against Muslim inmates in federal, state and local prisons stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Reports from all over the country have come in" on Muslims' religious property that "has been destroyed, confiscated, looted, lost, stolen or taken without cause," Ali said in the lawsuit he filed in federal court. Ali is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in prison for committing first-degree murder in the District of Columbia. The issue in the case was whether federal prison guards are immune from suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The law blocks lawsuits against the government over goods detained by customs and excise officers or "any other law enforcement officer." Two lower federal courts said Ali cannot sue because prison officials are law enforcement officers. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for a majority that cut across ideological grounds, agreed with the lower courts. The law "forecloses lawsuits against the United States for the unlawful detention of property by 'any,' not just 'some,' law enforcement officers," Thomas said. Besides the two copies of the Quran and the prayer rug, Ali is missing stamps and other personal items worth $177 that he says never showed up after his transfer from a federal penitentiary in Atlanta to Big Sandy penitentiary at Inez, Ky., in 2003. He said the last time he saw the now-missing items was when he turned them over to a prison supervisor in Atlanta. Muslim inmates have been subjected to "very hard times and bad treatment" at the hands of federal, state and local prison employees, Ali said in court papers. It seems as though "the many prison employees think that they can hurt you best taking your personally owned property," Ali wrote. He added that because he has "practiced his faith to the fullest" he has been subjected to prison officials repeatedly confiscating and destroying his legal and religious property. Ali said he has been harassed for his religious beliefs "year after year" in both the District of Columbia Department of Corrections and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The case is Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 06-9130. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
