'American Taliban' asks to join prison prayer suit

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh is seeking to join a lawsuit that claims Muslim inmates held in a special unit at the federal prison in Indiana aren't allowed to pray in groups as often as their religion demands.

The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana contends that Muslims in the Terre Haute prison's restrictive Communications Management Unit should be allowed to pray in groups daily. But the Bureau of Prisons argues the unit includes Muslims from several different sects that have varying requirements for group prayer.

The ACLU is waiting to see whether a federal judge will approve its requests to include Lindh in the lawsuit and for class-action status.

Lindh is serving a 20-year sentence at the prison for aiding Afghanistan's now-defunct Taliban government.