TRI In The News

Rutherford Still Fighting for Jailed Bible Study Leader

From One News Now

Original article available here

Efforts are being made to free a Phoenix man who was recently jailed for holding Bible studies at his home.

When Michael Salman ran into trouble for conducting Bible studies on his property, he constructed a separate structure in his back yard in an attempt to satisfy the city's building codes. That structure still failed to meet the city codes, so he was taken to court, ordered to jail for 60 days, and fined $12,000.

The Rutherford Institute's John Whitehead tells OneNewsNow Salman remains in custody.

"He's still in tent city, which is a Guantanamo-like facility," Whitehead reports. "The temperature some days there has been 140 degrees. There's no air conditioning. They're in tents on the ground, by the way."

The state Supreme Court has denied the Institute's motion to free Salman, but the request has been re-filed with the argument that the court did not apply the proper law.

"We're looking at filing another motion next week," Whitehead explains. "What the government is telling Suzanne Salman now is they're going to be sending police to her door every once in a while, coming in her home, checking and making sure he's not doing Bible studies. We believe that violates the Fourth Amendment. So, this family's under a lot of heat."

In addition, Salman was told to work on Sundays while in jail and stop conducting Bible studies with about 30 jail inmates. Jail officials backed off on both orders, however, after The Rutherford Institute delivered a protest letter.