24/07/2006
Shock Feltham claims.. Officers suspended for playing 'Muslim Olympics' Fury weeks after report into racist murder of inmate
By Justin Penrose, Crime Reporter
TWO prison officers are under investigation over claims they strapped copies of the Koran to their feet to use as skis in sick games dubbed "Muslim Olympics".
Placing the Koran below the feet is regarded as the "ultimate insult" by Muslims. The officers - based at scandal-hit Feltham Young Offenders' Institution - are also accused of using the Koran for "discus" events. But they now face the sack if the case is proved after a shocked fellow officer at Feltham reported them to the institution's governor. The pair have been suspended on full pay - of between £25,000 and £30,000 a year - while the claims are investigated. The alleged scandal comes just three weeks after a damning independent report into the racist murder of Zahid Mubarek at Feltham was published. A public inquiry found 186 separate failings in the run-up to his killing by skinhead Robert Stewart, who beat him to death with a table-leg. A Feltham source said: "No one can believe this has happened right after the Mubarek report, and the bosses were desperately hoping it wouldn't come out. "They apparently strapped copies of the Koran to their feet with sticky tape and had what they called skiing races. Then they're supposed to have seen how far they could throw the Koran in another event, they called the discus.
"Everyone is calling what they are accused of doing the 'Muslim Olympics'. But no one thinks it is funny - particularly the guy who reported them, who thought it was offensive. If the investigation finds they did this, it is a total disgrace and tarnishes the image of the whole prison service."
A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain was shocked by the claims.
He said: "If these allegations are true, this is very disturbing, especially in the wake of the Mubarek Inquiry.
"This extremely offensive attitude toward the holy scripture would be very troubling as it would suggest an anti-Muslim prejudice within the staff there.
"We welcome the suspensions but we hope that the authorities will take measures to root out anti-Muslim prejudice."
Feltham governor Andrew Cross said last night: "I personally see all new staff at Feltham and make it absolutely clear that racism, sexism, homophobia or any other discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated.
"I am currently looking into allegations that two prison officers behaved in a racist manner and I am awaiting the outcome of that investigation."
A spokesman for the Prison Service said: "Two officers were suspended from Feltham prison for alleged racist behaviour. An investigation ordered by the governor is ongoing."
The Mubarek Inquiry, carried out by Mr Justice Keith, exposed a catastrophic series of blunders that led to the 19-year-old's killing.
Mr Justice Keith named 20 men and women whose blunders or failures contributed to the tragedy.
Stewart, then 19 - and with RIP tattooed on his forehead - beat Zahid to death with a leg from a cell table during the early hours of March 21, 2000.
Throughout his time in prison Stewart had written letters in which he described his hatred of other races.
In one, a month before the murder, he said: "If I don't get bail on the 7th I'll take extreme measures to get shipped out.
"I'll kill me f***ing pad mate if I have to. Bleach me sheets and pillowcases white, make myself a Ku Klux Klan suit and walk out me pad holding a flaming cross."
THE HOLY BOOK
FOLLOWERS of Islam treat the Koran with such respect that they insist on washing before holding it. To be put under the feet causes huge offence to Muslims.
A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain said: "Placing the Koran under your feet is the ultimate insult. It is why when the statue of Saddam fell, people took off their shoes and hit it with the soles."
If a passage of the Koran is reproduced in a newspaper it is illegal under Islamic law to throw that newspaper away in case it becomes soiled.
SOURCE: Sunday Mirror
|
