Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, charged over a deadly shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, has been prohibited from praying in Arabic, his lawyer has said.
Major Hasan was reading passages from the Koran in Arabic over the telephone with one of his brothers when a military police officer stopped him, said attorney John Galligan on Monday.
“One of the police officers came in and told him he couldn’t do that,” said Galligan, a former US military judge. “They told him he couldn’t speak in Arabic. Personally, I think that’s a violation of his religious rights.”
Hasan, who is paralyzed from the chest down and is being held pending trial at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, is allowed to pray in English.
Hasan is being investigated for links to Islamic extremism, including his contacts with a radical cleric who blessed the killing spree. Officials have said it seemed Hasan was motivated by his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his refusal to fight other Muslims.
He faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.
Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed in the attack. Another 42 people were wounded.
The army has imposed several restrictions on Hasan, including that he only speak English with visitors or those he talks to on the telephone, unless an interpreter is available.
Another former military lawyer, however, said the army acted within protocol because Hasan is under military control.
“They can put reasonable restrictions on his movements and activities,” said Jeffrey Addicott, who was senior legal counsel for the army’s elite Green Berets and is now director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St Mary’s University in San Antonio. “The question is what is reasonable.”
Addicott cited previous news reports that said Hasan’s primary language is English and that Hasan later learned Arabic.
He said the army considers Hasan a security risk and that his speaking in Arabic might mask ulterior motives other than prayer.
“Who knows what he’s saying?” Addicott said.
Fort Hood officials did not respond to calls seeking comment.
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