Colorado pays $245,000 to a Muslim man who was pressured to shave his beard in jail in violation of his non secular beliefs, courtroom information present.
Tajuddin Ashaheed introduced the lawsuit in opposition to the Colorado Department of Corrections practically a decade in the past, after he was pressured to shave his beard as he entered jail for a parole violation in July 2016.
A correctional officer pressured Ashaheed to shave throughout the consumption course of, regardless that Ashaheed advised the officer he was a Muslim and that shaving his beard would violate a core tenet of his religion, based on the lawsuit.
The officer advised Ashaheed that if he didn’t shave his beard, he could be disciplined and positioned in solitary confinement, based on the lawsuit. Ashaheed shaved when confronted with that menace.
His lawsuit kicked off a years-long authorized battle. The two sides reached an settlement for a settlement in September and finalized it in mid-January, courtroom information present.
David Lane, Ashaheed’s lawyer, stated in a news launch Wednesday that the case highlights the significance of constitutional protections.
“As this country slides into fascism, it is critically important that the public takes every civil rights violation seriously, and never gives up the fight to protect our Constitution,” he stated within the news launch.
A spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Corrections didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
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