DOJ Urged to Investigate Arizona’s Department of Correction for Violating Sikh Prisoner’s Religious Rights

The ACLU of Arizona, along with several other organizations including the Sikh Coalition, filed a “religious-freedoms violation” complaint on May 24 with the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of Surjit Singh, a 64-year-old Sikh, who is currently incarcerated in an Arizona prison.

According to the complaint, Singh’s “religiously mandated” turban was confiscated and never returned, and “corrections officers handcuffed, physically restrained, and — over a period of hours — forcibly shaved (Singh’s) beard despite his repeated objections.”

Singh wore a turban and refrained from shaving his hair, including facial hair, in accordance with the practice of the Sikh faith, as stated in the complaint. Prior to the incident, Singh had never shaved, cut or removed his hair, and “the incident caused him deep shame and mental trauma, including severe depression,” states the complaint according to a press release by the Sikh Coalition. 

As an observant Sikh, Singh maintains certain articles of faith, including a turban and unshorn facial hair. Upon his incarceration in August of 2020, however, his turban was confiscated and his beard forcibly shaved to comply with Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) rules that require prisoners to be clean-shaven for identification photos. When Singh saw fellow prisoners being shaved for identification photos, he notified a correctional officer that he could not shave his beard because of religious beliefs, according to the complaint. 

This request was denied and Singh was told he had to shave. According to AZ Central, Singh asked for an interpreter, since he is a native Punjabi speaker with limited English proficiency, and a medical staff member who spoke Hindi assisted Singh, but as stated in the complaint, no one made the religious accommodation.  Singh became distraught and at one point said to the medical staff member to “cut my throat, but don’t cut my beard,” as stated in the complaint and AZ Central. 

After forcibly shaving Singh during intake, ADCRR officials subsequently threatened to shave him again when his beard grew back beyond the one-inch limitation imposed by their regulations, stated the Sikh Coalition. Officials only relented after Singh’s legal representatives intervened. As explained in the complaint filed with the DOJ, the ADCRR’s treatment of Singh violated his rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that provides heightened legal protections for incarcerated individuals’ religious practices.

Singh and his legal counsel complained verbally and in writing about the incident, and after a month, Gerard Thompson, warden of the Douglas facility, responded and apologized for the “miscommunication,”  saying Singh would not be shaved while he remained at the facility. 

After forcibly shaving Singh during intake, ADCRR officials subsequently threatened to shave him again when his beard grew back beyond the one-inch limitation imposed by their regulations, stated the Sikh Coalition.

Although Singh’s counsel filed a formal written grievance and ultimately secured an individual religious accommodation so that he will not be shaved in the future, the complaint notes that the ADCRR has refused to adopt policy changes to ensure that other incarcerated individuals who maintain facial hair for religious reasons do not suffer the same religious- freedom violations. 

The complaint also notes officials’ repeated and ongoing failures to provide Singh–a native Punjabi speaker with an extremely limited English proficiency–with legally mandated language services, including an interpreter and translated documents. “My faith remains deeply important to me, and incarcerated individuals have a right to our faith just like everyone else in this country,” said Singh, in a statement issued by the Sikh Coalition’s press release. “I am simply asking that the Arizona Department of Corrections guarantee that me and others in my position are able to serve our sentences with dignity by respecting our religious beliefs.” 

According to the ACLU, the department’s treatment of Singh violated his rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that provides legal protections for incarcerated individuals’ religious practices.  The ACLU is requesting the DOJ investigate the policies of the Department of Corrections and the implementation of those policies.

“The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry addressed and resolved these issues over six months ago,” Judy Keane, an Arizona Department of Corrections spokesperson, said in a statement to AZ Central. 

In November 2020, the Department sent two sincere letters of apology to the Legal Director of the Sikh Coalition in New York, expressing regret for Inmate Singh’s unpleasant experience upon admission to the Phoenix Prison, which arose from an innocent, but unfortunate, miscommunication between a chaplain and security staff. “There was no ill will, merely a miscommunication, for which the Department apologized in writing twice. Inmate Singh was subsequently transferred to the Douglas Prison, where he now enjoys the unrestricted religious freedom to grow his hair and beard and wear a turban throughout the remainder of his five-year incarceration for manslaughter,” Keane said.

Speaking on the issue, Jared Keenan, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Arizona said, “The law provides heightened protections for incarcerated individuals’ religious exercise precisely because they are especially vulnerable to unfair restrictions on religious practice,” adding, “The ADCRR has gotten away with flouting the law for too long: The DOJ must step in to protect Arizona prisoners’ religious-freedom rights.” 

Similarly, Cindy Nesbit, Sikh Coalition Senior Staff Attorney said, “All people, including those who are currently serving sentences in the criminal justice system, have a constitutionally protected right to the free exercise of their religion,” adding, “Mr. Singh’s faith requires him to maintain unshorn facial hair, and the ADCRR’s arbitrary policies should not violate his or anyone else’s religious rights in Arizona.” Sikhism is the fifth-largest religion in the world, with approximately 500,000 adherents in the United States.