{UAH} Muslim rapist sues state for not providing halal meals in jail!

Muslim rapist sues state for not providing halal meals in jail!

3rd February 2018

An inmate has sued the Oregon Department of Corrections staff for failing to serve halal meals in accordance with his Muslim faith.

Rashid Kambarov, 29, who is serving an eight-year sentence for rape, filed a complaint this week in U.S. District Court in Pendleton.

The Turkish migrant is not a U.S. citizen but is living in the United States legally on a green card. He is currently incarcerated at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla and is suing the superintendent along with other administrators at the prison, the Oregonian reports.

Betty Bernt, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said the agency accommodates inmates' requests for religious diets by offering a "meat alternative tray" or a kosher diet prepared in accordance with Jewish law.

Kambarov alleges he is not served halal meat and that vegetarian alternatives have been cross-contaminated with pork. Halal refers to food and drink prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary laws, including beef and chicken that is ritualistically slaughtered in the presence of an imam.

He claims the state's failure to accommodate his religion violates the First and 14th Amendments and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act of 2000, which bars state and local jails and prisons from imposing arbitrary limits on inmates' religious practices.

According to the suit, Kambarov asked for and was denied a special diet to accommodate his faith when he was sent to prison in 2015 for raping and sodomizing a 31-year woman who he cornered at a Portland motel.

He says he was told the department offers Muslim inmates a "pork-free meat alternative diet" that includes fresh and cooked fruits and vegetables.

He says he was told the food would not come into contact with pork or alcohol, halal requirements.

Kambarov said he was also told the vegetarian option "is the best option for a Muslim." However, Kambarov said he witnessed kitchen staff handling vegetarian meals as well as salami. He said he watched staff use the same knife to cut vegetables and ham.

He said his requests for kosher meals, which are prepared in accordance with Jewish law, were rejected by prison staff. Kosher requirements satisfy Muslim dietary restrictions, he said.

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