The lead defense lawyer for accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan said Monday that he believes the Army is violating Hasan’s religious rights because it prohibited him from praying from the Koran in Arabic with a relative.
Attorney John P. Galligan said he learned that police guarding Hasan at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio cut short a phone conversation Hasan was having with one of his brothers on Friday because Hasan was not speaking in English.
San Antonio Press News reports.
It’s my recollection that the Army has a regulation about the use of language other than English during day to day interactions between personnel; that except in very informal off-duty situations, Spanish for example may not be used. This came up in a case I had where one of the obstruction of justice charges related to three accuseds talking in Spanish to create a false story. Can’t seem to re-find the regulation though. USDB requires letters to be written in English, so they can be read easily. But there is nothing about phone calls in English, although it would seem that security (escape, drugs, alcohol) would be a relevant concern or issue. If someone has a reference, that would be nice to know.