Lindh lawyer may seek contempt order against gov't

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A lawyer who helped American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh and other Muslim inmates in his high-security federal prison unit win the right to hold daily group prayers says they should be allowed to pray together five times a day.

American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana legal director Ken Falk said Tuesday that he'll ask a judge to find the government in contempt unless the inmates are allowed five daily group prayers, as Islam requires.

Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on Jan. 11 blocked the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., from enforcing its ban on daily group prayer, but she noted her ruling doesn't prohibit less restrictive security measures.

A Bureau of Federal Prisons spokesman says Muslims in Lindh's unit have been allowed three daily group prayers since March 12.