By MARY ALLEN /
The News Journal
A Delaware Correctional Center inmate Thursday sued eight prison officials and the Department of Correction, alleging mistreatment that included being beaten unconscious by prison staff.
Saad M. Soliman, 26, claims he woke up, almost six hours after being kicked in the ribs and hit in the head with a phone book, in a solitary confinement space known as "the hole." He was nearly naked with only a vinyl mat for comfort on the concrete floor, and 15 vents were blowing cold air on him. The temperature was between 50 and 60 degrees during his 22-day stay there, which began in May, according to the lawsuit.
"It's ridiculous," correction spokeswoman Beth Welch said in response to the lawsuit. She said department officials look forward to presenting their side of the case in court.
Soliman filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court against prison Commissioner Stan Taylor and seven others, including Joseph B. Richardson, an internal affairs investigator at the Smyrna prison and Ronald Hosterman, a treatment administrator.
The lawsuit accuses Richardson of beating Soliman, who is Muslim, and directing racial epithets at him. It accuses Hosterman of recommending other counselors not write letters of reference for Soliman, and saying that if Soliman were released he would "become an al Qaida terrorist," according to the lawsuit.
Neither Richardson nor Hosterman could be reached for comment.
Soliman is the Wilmington-born son of native Egyptians. He has been serving a 15-year sentence for first-degree robbery, firearm possession during a felony and manslaughter since 1995. His attorneys describe him as a model inmate.
He shot his best friend during a botched home invasion, according to the lawsuit, which contends he has taken advantage of prison education opportunities to prepare for his release. He is within two semesters of receiving a Bachelor of Science degree and has done subcontracting work alongside civilians for the Department of Transportation, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges violations of Soliman's civil rights, including freedom of speech, the right to be free from beatings and the right to practice his religion.
The case, filed by Wilmington attorneys Jeffrey K. Martin, Timothy J. Wilson and Herbert G. Feuerhake, seeks unspecified damages and an immediate sentence commutation hearing. It alleges Soliman's problems with the officials arose after another attorney filed a petition for sentence commutation on his behalf with the state Board of Pardons.
Contact Mary Allen at 324-2794 or mallen@delawareonline.com.
