By Shelly Bradbury
The Denver Post
DENVER — Colorado will pay $245,000 to a Muslim man who was forced to shave his beard in prison in violation of his religious beliefs, court records show.
Tajuddin Ashaheed brought the lawsuit against the Colorado Department of Corrections nearly a decade ago, after he was forced to shave his beard as he entered prison for a parole violation in July 2016.
A correctional officer forced Ashaheed to shave during the intake process, even though Ashaheed told the officer he was a Muslim and that shaving his beard would violate a core tenet of his faith, according to the lawsuit.
The officer told Ashaheed that if he did not shave his beard, he would be disciplined and placed in solitary confinement, according to the lawsuit. Ashaheed shaved when faced with that threat.
His lawsuit kicked off a years-long legal battle. The two sides reached an agreement for a settlement in September and finalized it in mid-January, court records show.
David Lane, Ashaheed’s attorney, said in a news release Wednesday that the case highlights the importance of constitutional protections.
“As this country slides into fascism, it is critically important that the public takes every civil rights violation seriously, and never gives up the fight to protect our Constitution,” he said in the news release.
A spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Corrections did not immediately return a request for comment.
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