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In the Nation

John Walker Lindh in a 2002 sheriff's department photo. He is challenging a prison's restrictions on group prayer.

Posted: August 27, 2012

U.S. Taliban headed to court

INDIANAPOLIS - An American-born Taliban fighter imprisoned in Indiana will try to convince a federal judge that his religious freedom trumps security concerns in a closely watched trial that will examine how far prisons can go to ensure security in the age of terrorism.

John Walker Lindh was expected to testify Monday in Indianapolis during the first day of the trial over prayer policies in a tightly restricted prison unit where he and other high-risk inmates have severely limited contact with the outside world.

Lindh, 31, a Muslim convert who was charged with supporting terrorists after he was captured by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and later pleaded guilty to lesser charges, says his religious rights are being violated because the federal prison in Terre Haute deprives him of daily group prayer.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and the Hanbali school to which Lindh belongs requires group prayer if it is possible. Inmates in the Communications Management Unit are allowed to pray together only once a week except during Ramadan. At other times, they must pray in their individual cells. - AP

Ga. college files for Chapter 11

ATLANTA - Facing more than $30 million in debt, Morris Brown College officials have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the move was a last-ditch effort to prevent the school from being foreclosed on and sold at auction. The 131-year-old historically black college is facing foreclosure next month after investors called $13 million worth of bonds tied to the school.

The bonds were issued in 1996 by the Fulton County Development Authority. The school had pledged several pieces of property as security. An auction of assets was set for Sept. 4.

Chapter 11 gives federal protection to businesses unable to pay their debts and allows reorganization. A lawyer for Morris Brown says the emergency filing delays the foreclosure until a judge decides otherwise.

- AP

Ariz. panel seeks a border fence

PHOENIX - Members of the Arizona Legislature's border security advisory committee want the state to begin building a mile of fencing along the border with Mexico even though it has raised only a fraction of the needed money.

The committee has raised just 10 percent of the $2.8 million needed to complete a mile of fencing. The ultimate goal is to build 200 miles of border fencing.

State Sen. Steve Smith told the Arizona Republic he believes more private donations will come in once construction begins.

Construction could begin by the end of the year using private fencing companies, some donated supplies, and prison inmate labor, Smith said. The project is meant to complement the federal government's border fencing program. - AP

Elsewhere:

Dozens of small to moderate earthquakes rattled Southern California on Sunday, shaking an area from rural Imperial County to the San Diego coast and north into the Coachella Valley. The largest was a magnitude 5.3. At least 25 aftershocks followed.