A federal judge has denied a motion by accused terrorist Jamshid Muhtorov to be transferred back to the Denver jail after claiming he was sent to another jail because of religious retaliation.
Muhtorov claimed he was moved from the Denver jail to the Jefferson County Detention Facility after he requested that during the holy month of Ramadan that a female correctional officer not perform pat-downs on him or search his cell.
U.S. District Judge John Kane denied the request in an order Tuesday, explaining that authorities are given deference in running jails unless there is a civil rights violation.
Muhtorov contended that his recent transfer violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act, which protects an inmate’s right to abide his or her religious dictates whenever possible.
Kane pointed out that a proper venue for Muhtorov’s complaint would be civil court, rather than in a criminal case.
Muhtorov was arrested in early 2012 and is accused of providing support to a terror group based in Uzbekistan.
The evidence against Muhtorov consists largely of e-mails and telephone calls with a representative of the Islamic Jihad Union.
According to a criminal complaint, Muhtorov said he was willing to die for the group’s cause. He is not accused of planning a terror attack on American soil, and he has said he is innocent.