On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska filed a motion to compel the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) to comply with a 2019 settlement agreement requiring DOC to allow incarcerated Muslims to observe Ramadan. The motion is filed on the fifth day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The Council for American-Islamic Relations filed suit against DOC in 2018, alleging that DOC was failing to provide incarcerated Alaskans with sufficient nutrition during Ramadan. The plaintiffs later added claims regarding DOC’s policies surrounding the right to gather for religious worship and participate in daily prayers and Friday Jummah services. DOC agreed to settle the lawsuit in 2019, making changes to several policies to better uphold and support Muslim prisoners’ right to religious practice during Ramadan.
Despite the settlement, the ACLU of Alaska has continued to receive reports from Muslim incarcerated people that DOC is not properly accommodating their Ramadan observance in violation of the 2019 agreement, prompting this latest motion.
“The refusal to provide religious accommodations during Ramadan is unconstitutional,” said Megan Edge, Director of the ACLU of Alaska’s Prison Project. “DOC has already been to court over its failure to uphold the right to religious practices during Ramadan, and we are fighting to ensure that DOC complies with the 2019 settlement agreement.”
