Until last year, Surjit Singh¡¯s beard had never been cut, trimmed or shaved. A devout Sikh, Singh believes that hair is a divine gift and removing it from the body dishonours God.?
But in a shocking incident last August, Surjit Singh was reportedly forced to?shave his beard in an?Arizona?prison despite his?protests that it would violate his deeply held religious beliefs and despite the fact that US federal law protects incarcerated individuals¡¯ ability to exercise their faith.??
The complaint filed by several advocacy?groups allege that the 64-year-old Indian immigrant was stripped of his turban and had his beard forcibly shaved by corrections officers as they sought to take his photo for the intake process, CNN reported.?
It has urged the?US?Justice Department?to investigate the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) for its egregious infringement of Singh¡¯s religious freedom rights.??
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Surjit Singh was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter in a case from 2017. He was taken into custody on 21 August 2020 following his sentencing.?Singh is currently incarcerated at the Whetstone Unit in Tucson operated by the ADCRR.??
According to the complaint, at one point during his ordeal, Singh said ¡°cut my throat, but don¡¯t cut my beard!¡± But he was eventually handcuffed and his beard was cut.??
Singh, who speaks Punjabi and has limited English proficiency, was denied proper access to interpreters and language assistance, the complaint said.??
The complaint also alleges that the ADCRR¡¯s facial hair policies likely violate the rights of many other prisoners in the agency¡¯s custody whose faith requires them to maintain a beard.
They asked the Justice Department to investigate these policies and their implementation.
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