Settlement Reached with Kentucky Jail over Removal of Muslim Woman’s Hijab
The jail had forced her to remove her hijab, taking a booking photograph without it and allowing the photo to remain publicly available on its website.
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the US, announced settlement of the lawsuit.
CAIR filed the lawsuit in the case last year with the goal of having the photograph destroyed. The client filed anonymously (as Jane Doe) to prevent further circulation of this violative photograph.
After the filing of the lawsuit, Warren County Regional Jail (WCRJ) took immediate steps to destroy Ms. Doe’s photograph from their database, public and private, and reached out to other law enforcement agencies to instruct them to do the same.
The original lawsuit also alleged that Ms. Doe was subject to a strip search that was live streamed to the jail lobby. Ms. Doe was very happy to learn this was not the case, and rather a misunderstanding. During settlement discussions, CAIR received verification that the strip search was never livestreamed or broadcast.
The jail’s inmate dressing room is the room where the search occurred, and it does not contain security cameras or recording devices. The television monitor outside the room does not (and could not) broadcast or livestream footage from inside the camera-less dressing room.
“Therefore, CAIR and Ms. Doe hereby retract any and all statements and allegations that the strip search was filmed and/or projected on a television screen in the jail lobby for public observation. This did not occur, and we retract any prior statements to the contrary,” CAIR said.
The settlement reached between CAIR and Warren County Regional Jail (WCRJ) also welcomes a change to WCRJ booking policies. WCRJ has made it their mission to respect religious inmates’ beliefs and is changing its policy to reflect that. Going forward, individuals photographed pursuant to booking procedures will not be required to remove religious head coverings as long as facial features are clearly visible. The policy change will also feature other minor adjustments ensuring reasonable religious accommodations are met for any incarcerees who wear a religiously mandated head covering.
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“This is a win for the religious community of Warren County as a whole. Our client is ecstatic to know that, not only has the picture finally been taken down, but no one else will have to endure what she did,” said CAIR Legal Fellow Aya Beydoun. “We greatly appreciate Warren County Regional Jail for working with us to make this change.”
CAIR Deputy National Litigation Director Gadeir Abbas noted: “This settlement follows a wave of hijab-less booking photo lawsuits across the country. It sends a strong message to other municipalities to respect and accommodate their incarcerated religious community or pay a price.”
CAIR offers an educational toolkit, called “A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” to help correctional officers and administrators gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.
Source: Cair.com
