Christian Jailed for Home Bible Studies - Phoenix AZ Against law to have bible study at your home.(Is this China/ N. Korea?)

For Immediate Release: September 4, 2012

District Court Orders Phoenix Officials to Respond to Rutherford Institute’s Habeas Corpus Petition on Behalf of Christian Jailed for Home Bible Studies PHOENIX, Ariz. —The United States District Court for Arizona has granted The Rutherford Institute’s motion to require Phoenix officials to respond to its petition for habeas corpus filed on behalf of Phoenix resident Michael Salman who is currently serving a 60-day jail sentence and was fined more than $12,000 for using his private residential property to host a weekly Bible study, allegedly in violation of the city’s building codes. Institute attorneys are challenging the legality of Salman’s imprisonment as a violation of his First Amendment and statutory rights to religious freedom and assembly, in addition to challenging the City’s assertion that if a person holds Bible studies or other forms of religious worship at his residence, he is required to comply with all local laws relating to an actual church that is open to the public. The district court’s order requires Phoenix officials to file a response to the habeas corpus petition within 40 days of receiving service. Although Salman is scheduled to be released from jail on Thursday, September 6, he will then be subjected to home arrest and random home inspections for allegedly violating his probation by continuing to hold Bible studies on his private property after being ordered not to have more than 12 people gathered on his property at any one time. The Rutherford Institute’s fact sheet on the Salman case is available at www.rutherford.org. “While Michael Salman should never have been charged with a crime for simply exercising his religious beliefs on his own property, to keep him in prison while the question of his basic rights is being considered is the ultimate injustice,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “The continued imprisonment of Michael Salman for simply worshipping God with his family and friends on his own property demonstrates the lengths to which government bureaucrats will go in service of imposing dubious regulations on average citizens.” Since 2005, Michael Salman and his wife Suzanne have hosted Bible studies for family and friends. However, after some neighbors allegedly complained about the gatherings, city officials got involved. In 2007, city officials ordered the Salmans to stop holding the Bible studies in their home, insisting that they were in violation of the zoning ordinance and construction code. The Salmans subsequently erected a 2,000-square-foot building in their backyard, large enough to hold approximately 40 people, which they proceeded to use for their weekly Bible studies. Attendees parked their vehicles on the Salmans’ 1.5 acre property. In June 2009, nearly a dozen police officers, accompanied by city inspectors, raided the Salmans’ property, searching for violations. Having determined that Salman’s weekly Bible studies constituted a church, city officials subsequently charged Salman with being in violation of various code regulations that apply to commercial and public buildings, including having no emergency exit signs over the doors, no handicap parking spaces or handicap ramps. Salman was later found guilty of 67 code violations. In coming to Salman’s defense, The Rutherford Institute is challenging the city’s assertion that “Bible studies are not allowed to be conducted in your residence or the barn on your property as these structures do not comply with the construction code for this use.” The Institute argues that Salman’s religious gatherings should have been treated as accessory uses under the regulations governing residential property.  However, city officials claim that they can treat the Bible studies differently than family reunions, football parties or Boy Scouts solely because they are “religious worship.” CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE ONLINE

CONTACT INFORMATION Nisha Whitehead (434) 978-3888 ext. 604 (434) 466-6168 (cell) nisha@rutherford.org THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE 1440 Sachem Place Charlottesville, VA 22901 Phone: (434) 978-3888 Fax: (434) 978-1789 www.rutherford.org