Inquiry into defaced Koran claim

Officers at HMP Parkhurst and adjacent Albany were interviewed

Prison officers have been questioned in connection with allegations a Muslim inmate's copy of the Koran was defaced.

In October, the Islamic Human Rights Commission received a claim from a prisoner at HMP Parkhurst that graffiti had been scrawled by a prison officer.

Prison authorities are now interviewing a "considerable" number of officers at HMP Parkhurst and HMP Albany, Isle of Wight, where the inmate was also held.

The Home Office have said a report into the claim is due at the end of March.

Richard Culley, chairman of the independent monitoring board at HMP Parkhurst, told BBC News that a "considerable" number of officers are now being questioned but declined to confirm how many.

Massoud Sahdjareh, chairman of the commission, said at the time of the claim: "We have seen the copy of the Koran - basically rude words have been written right across the page."