Saudi inmate sues to get files on denied transfer

DENVER (AP) — A Saudi man convicted of sexual assault has filed a lawsuit to get records on why his request to serve his sentence in his home country was denied.

The lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that Colorado’s Department of Corrections denied Homaidan al-Turki the right to inspect his files. It also claims that corrections officials gave the records to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department as part of an ongoing investigation.

El Paso County sheriff’s officials are investigating the March 19 slaying of corrections chief Tom Clements. A week before he was killed, Clements denied al-Turki’s request to serve out his sentence in his native Saudi Arabia.

Al-Turki’s lawyers have previously claimed that Colorado officials improperly leaked word that investigators were probing whether the killing was related to the denial.

In the lawsuit filed in El Paso County District Court, al-Turki’s attorneys said: “That ‘theory’ has since been wholly discredited.”

Evan Ebel, a parolee who had spent years in solitary confinement and who is described by authorities as a white supremacist gang member had the gun used to kill Clements in his possession. Ebel died in a shootout with Texas authorities two days after Clements’ slaying. Authorities have said they continue to look at a number of angles in a broad investigation into Clements’ death, including whether others were involved.

Al-Turki lost his latest bid for parole on Tuesday when Colorado State Board of Parole Chairman Anthony Young said al-Turki must undergo sexual offender rehabilitation before he’s released from prison. Clements denied al-Turki’s request for a transfer for the same reason.

Authorities have said that al-Turki kept his Indonesian housekeeper a virtual slave and sexually assaulted her over four years. Al-Turki, a well-known member of Denver’s Muslim community, has maintained his innocence and claimed the charges were a result of anti-Muslim sentiment following the 9/11 attacks.

He was convicted in state court in 2006 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion — all felonies — as well as misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. He was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison, which was reduced to 8 years to life in 2011 on a legal technicality.