MIRROR: Muslim inmates are being offered fresh bedding and clothing after sniffer dog searches - because the animals are considered unclean in Islam.
They are allowed to request replacements if the animals' saliva touches garments and linen.
Ministry of Justice spokeswoman Rosemary Hanna explained: "We are aware that if dog saliva comes into contact with the clothing or religious artefacts of a Muslim, it renders these items defiled. As such a prisoner must be allowed to change clothing if this occurs.
"Also, bedding should be changed where the prisoner feels that it has been defiled."
The practice follows a complaint from an illegal immigrant awaiting deportation at Dover prison in Kent but is now in place nationwide.
Prisoners' Korans will also be protected from sniffer dogs. Ms Hanna added: "They should not be allowed to touch holy books and artefacts. Muslim Inmates Offered Fresh Bedding and Clothing after Sniffer Dog Searches By Allison Martin | October 9, 2008
DAILY EXPRESS:
Muslim Inmates Get New Clothes if Dog Sniffs Cell >>> | October 9, 2008
BBC:
Staff ‘Fears’ over Muslim Inmates: A prison inspection report has detailed the "fear" felt by staff at Whitemoor high security jail in Cambridgeshire at the radicalisation of Muslim prisoners.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons said the findings highlight a growing "disaffection and distance" between Muslim inmates and the prison system.
Anne Owers said the growing situation "urgently" needed addressing.
The National Offender Management Service said work to improve prisoner and staff relations was "a priority".
Ms Owers said the Prison Service "needs to equip staff better to deal with the growing number of Muslim prisoners".
The report says a fundamental problem at HMP Whitemoor is the relationship between staff and the 120 Muslim inmates - almost a third of the total number of prisoners.
According to inspectors, officers tended to treat Muslim prisoners as extremists and potential security risks, even though only eight of them had been convicted of terrorist offences.
Officers expressed a "fear" that increasing numbers of prisoners were converting to Islam and being radicalised.
Prison officers said Muslim prison gangs are trying to force other inmates to sign up to Islamic radicalism.
Inspectors were told that extremists at HMP Whitemoor were pushing a "strict and extreme" interpretation of Islamic practice.
Ms Owers said: "There was a perception among officers that some Muslim prisoners operated as a gang and put pressures on non-Muslim prisoners to convert, and on other Muslim prisoners to conform to a strict and extreme interpretation of Islamic practice." >>> | October 10, 2008
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