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October 27, 2007

UK: Muslim Prisoners May Sue Over Ramadan Ham Sandwich Menu

Once upon a time, prison in Britain was regarded as a punishment where certain rights, such as the right to freedom, were curtailed. Nowadays - prisoners have learned that they can sue the Prison Service and win. Take the case of a prisoner at Northallerton Young Offenders' Institute in North Yorkshire who tried to kill himself. Prison officers revived him, but he went on to sue the Prison Service, gaining $1.15 million in an out of court settlement in January this year.

In November last year, 197 prisoners who had been drug addicts when jailed sued the Prison Service in the High Court. Their claim? They complained that they were forced to stop taking drugs in jail. These prisoners were awarded payments totaling $1.5 million.

With these precedents already made, it is little wonder that a group of Muslim prisoners are now threatening to sue the Prison Service because they were offered a choice of ham sandwiches during Ramadan.

The news is carried by yesterday's Bradford Telegraph & Argus, the Daily Mail and today's Daily Telegraph.

The 200 Muslim prisoners were at Her Majesty's Prison Leeds, which has a total population of 1,200 criminals. HMP Leeds is a category B prison. The problem involved a menu (pictured) which was issued during the month of Ramadan which gave them the choice of a ham sandwich as part of their evening meal.

A spokesman at the Prison Service said: "An inappropriate menu card was printed during this Ramadan (September 13 to October 12). This mistake was rectified immediately. Appropriate menu options for the Iftaar evening meal were available throughout Ramadan. Prison Service guidelines state that prisoners must have a diet which meets the requirements of their religion."

The Daily Mail states that some prisoners who had chosen cheese sandwiches found they contained ham, though this is denied by the prison.

The prisoners are now taking legal action, claiming that their "human rights" were abused.

In a separate case involving "human rights" 16 Muslim criminals from HMP Leeds are currently waging a lawsuit which maintains that Muslims were offered food that was said to be halal, but was not (i.e. it had not come from an animal whose throat was cut and had bled to death). The men are claiming "mistreatment".

Kate Maynard, from law firm Hickman and Rose Solicitors said of the "halal" case: "One of the issues they are worried about is that they were being told food was halal when it wasn't. They are taking this to court to try to change conditions in the prison and make conditions better."

In March 2006 we reported that at Her Majesty's Prison Blakenhurst near Redditch, which houses 1,070 criminals, ham was deliberately put into Muslim prisoner's "halal" dinners. This action happened when a prisoner who was employed in the prison was found putting tinned ham into curries being prepared for Muslim prisoners.

In regards to that incident, no-one sued. A Prison Service statement said: "All of the prisoners who ate any of the food were sent a letter of apology and imams were on hand to deal with any other issues."

Prisons should be places of punishment. The mere fact that prisoners receive "menu cards" to choose what they eat indicates the way that they are being treated as "consumers" rather than criminals.

In HMP Brixton in south London in April 2006 it was revealed that two new toilet blocks were being constructed. Following pressure from Muslim leaders, the toilets were designed so that no prisoner - Muslim or otherwise - would be evacuating his bowels with his bottom aligned to Mecca.

Britain's prisons now house more than 4,500 Muslims. On November 29 last year, the UK prison population topped 80,000 - with 79,908 in jails and 152 held in police stations. As a result of Britain's massive prison overcrowding, maximum sentences for crimes are now only being handed dow by judges in 1 in 40 cases.

With prisoners now suing the Prison Service to establish their religious habits as "human rights" issues, it appears that Muslim prisoners are now being treated as "special cases". This is wrong - all prisoners should be treated equally. Additionally - the cost of keeping people in prison is already a burden on the tax-payer. Financial settlements will only add to the tax-payers' burden. If these individuals were paragons of religious "virtue" they would not be in prison. Would they?

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 27, 2007 2:44 PM

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