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New Zealand Court Faces Religious Accommodation Issue In Community Service Sentence

By Howard M. Friedman

New Zealand's Dominion Post yesterday reported on an unusual religious accommodation issue that has arisen in a community service sentence imposed by a New Zealand court on a recent Muslim convert. Last December, Jason Osborne was sentenced to 300 hours of community work for failure to pay $15,334 of fines. His probation officer assigned him to work in the recycling area of a rubbish dump and Osborne refused. Corrections officials claim Osborne told them he needed to pray 5 times each day and could not do so in front of non-Muslims. Osborne however says his only objection was that at the rubbish dump he could not find a clean enough place to pray at the twice-per day prayer times during his work schedule. After being threatened with prison if he did not complete his community service, Osborne found a different probation officer who allows him to do his community work as Splash Planet, and he has completed 50 hours during the past three weeks. On Thursday he appeared in court in Hastings to plead guilty to not completing his community work. After holding him in custody over night, the court released him on bail for eight weeks for him to complete his 300 hours of service.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 20, 2010 (boomark / email).