U.S. Court of Appeals To Hear Anti-Discrimination Case
MCLU Urges Court to Remedy Injustice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   
Wednesday, June 7, 2006                                                                                         
                                                                                                          

PORTLAND – Tomorrow, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit will hear arguments over whether a man subjected to humiliating harassment will receive a remedy in court.  Abdul Azimi, a Muslim man from Afghanistan was subjected to two years of racial, ethnic and religious harassment by co-workers at Jordan’s Meats, while his employer did nothing to stop the abuse.  At his trial, the jury found that Mr. Azimi was indeed subjected to “hostile work environment” harassment—a violation of Federal law—but it awarded him no compensation for his suffering.  The MCLU, as amicus curiae in the case, is arguing that this decision was inconsistent.  Jeff Young and Stephanie Jazlowiecki, of the law firm of McTeague, Higbee, Case, Cohen, Whitney & Toker, are cooperating counsel in this case.  Ms. Jazlowiecki will present oral arguments on behalf of the MCLU.

“If our country’s civil rights laws are to mean anything, there must be some real penalty associated with severe racial, ethnic or religious harassment,” said Zachary Heiden, Staff Attorney for the Maine Civil Liberties Union.  “A jury found that Mr. Azimi suffered significant harm from two years of workplace harassment.  We hope that the Court will find that Mr. Azimi should be compensated for that harm.”

The harassment of Mr. Azimi took many forms, targeting him for being a Muslim and an Afghani.  Mr. Azimi was physically threatened and called a “fucking nigger” and a “fucking piece of shit”.  Notes were left in his locker calling him a “fucking Musselum” (sic) and suggesting that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are his parents.  Mr. Azimi’s goggles and hearing protection equipment were smashed, his shoes were placed in the toilet, and the pockets of his work uniform were filled with ham and pork.

“Religious discrimination and hatred of immigrants have no place in Maine,” said MCLU Executive Director Shenna Bellows.  “Our courts have to make sure everyone knows that this is not acceptable behavior.”

Racial, Ethnic, and Religious discrimination in the workplace violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed to remedy some of the injustices revealed by the civil rights movement of the 1960s.  The case was tried in the U.S. District Court in Maine.  The appeal will be heard at 9:30 am at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit sits.  That court hears appeals from federal cases in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico.
 
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