(Colorado Politics) The federal appeals court based in Denver has reinstated a Muslim inmate’s religious liberty lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons, finding a lower court misunderstood the level of access prison officials were providing to group prayer.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit sided with Ahmad Ajaj, who is serving a 114-year sentence for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He alleged that prison employees, starting from the time Ajaj was incarcerated at the Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, substantially burdened his religious exercise in violation of the First Amendment.
The appeal centered on Ajaj’s ability to participate in congregate prayer, which is a key component of his religious beliefs. He charged the Bureau of Prisons with moving him between facilities and temporarily changing its procedures in the name of getting his lawsuit dismissed.
