Prague, Aug 8 (CTK) – A prisoner named Onallah Ziyad, serving his sentence in the jail in Ostrov nad Ohri, west Bohemia, has complained that as a practicing Muslim he cannot observe the Ramadan there, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes Saturday.
Ziyad complains about discrimination against him, MfD writes.
He said the prison guards had rejected all his demands that his religion be respected and that he was exposed to their arrogant behaviour, it adds.
“As I am no terrorist, I cannot understand this,” Ziyad is quoted as saying.
The prison authority said it could not comply with his request over sanitary rules, MfD writes.
“There are no fridges in the prison and the food in it is for immediate consumption,” prison spokeswoman Zdenka Stoeckbauerova is quoted as saying.
“If the rules were violated, serious problems could occur, in the hot summer in particular,” she added.
Stoeckbauerova said the prison authority did not prevent the practicing of religious rituals.
Ziyad can use a prayer rag and he can start and end his days by Islamic prayers, she added.
Convicted of fraud and now serving a five-year prison term, Ziyad has been living in the Czech Republic since 1987, MfD writes.
A survey conducted by the SocioFactor polling institute has revealed that most Czech jails allow Muslims to practice their religion.
However, the opportunities to do so differ, MfD writes.
in the Ruzyne prison in Prague they have their own prayer room and can use a prayer rag and religious literature, it adds.
In the Mirov and Oracov prisoners, the prison staff respect the demands that the daily and food regime should be changed during the month of Ramadan, MfD writes.
However, in the prison in Ceske Budejovice, south Bohemia, the rules cannot changed over the Ramadan, it adds.
The researchers also found out that the inmates often complain expediently.
Some of them only pretend to be Muslims, being unable to name the five pillars of their religion, MfD writes.
They often only demand the Muslim food in the belief that it is better, it adds.
Their complaints are also motivated by the effort to be moved to a different prison or they simply complain as they feel bored, MfD writes.
