Emergency transfer denied in kosher prison food case

A federal judge rejected a request by a Venezuelan Jewish detainee for an emergency transfer from an Alabama prison over complaints that it was not providing kosher meals.

In a ruling last week on the case of Rafael Alberto Lloveras Linares, U.S. District Court Judge Karon Bowdre found that Linares was offered an alternative kosher diet, although he complained that it was not prepared in accordance with Jewish tradition, according to a report by AL.com, the online edition of the Huntsville Times.

Linares, a federal immigration detainee, had asked to be transferred from the Etowah County jail in Huntsville to a prison in New Jersey or Florida. He alleged that he was assaulted by other prisoners after filing suit to demand kosher food.

Linares requested the injunction for an emergency transfer on May 1 — and claimed he was assaulted four days later — after submitting his original complaint about the kosher food on April 21. He filed an additional lawsuit last week against officials at the Etowah County jail for allegedly failing to address the assault, the Huntsville Times reported.

Linares’ original lawsuit about the kosher food will proceed in court.