A British prison fired an officer who allegedly insulted terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden two months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Colin Rose, 53, is appealing to an employment tribunal in Norwich, England, to get his job back, reports the London Telegraph.
Officials at Blundeston Prison in Lowestoft, England, told Rose he had to go because, although he was unaware of it, three Muslims visiting the prison at the time might have heard his remarks about the al-Qaida leader, the paper said.
A six-month investigation that led to his dismissal never established whether the visitors heard the comment.
At the tribunal hearing Rose’s appeal, the prison’s assistant governor, Andrew Rogers, said, “I am not sure whether Mr. Rose saw the visitors,” the Telegraph reported.
Rose reportedly had a perfect record over 21 years of service.
His troubles began Nov. 15, 2001, when he threw a set of keys into a metal chute at the prison gatehouse, the London paper reported. Someone said it sounded as if he had thrown them so hard they were going to break through the tray at the bottom of the chute.
Rose replied: “There’s a photo of Osama bin Laden there.”
Another prison officer, Peter McKinnon, told Rose to be quiet because three Asian people were at the window of the gatehouse.
Andrew Rogers, the assistant governor, said he “took offense at the comment.”
“If the visitors had heard the comment, they might have taken offense, too.” Rogers said.
When confronted the next day, Rose dismissed it as a throwaway remark, but an investigation was ordered a few days later. He was fired last May following a disciplinary hearing.
The prison’s staff, which has a large Asian population with many Muslims, was sent a notice Sept. 25, 2001, asking for continued sensitivity in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.
“I asked them to avoid inflaming the situation,” Jerry Knight, the prison governor, told the tribunal.
The Telegraph said the officer who conducted the probe, Mark Ewels, did not track down the Asians to find out if they had heard the remark.
Ewels said he thought the issue was too sensitive to bring up with them.
