US prison tells inmate that Obama's books harmful to national security

The federal government's most secure prison has determined that two books written by President Barack Obama contain material "potentially detrimental to national security" and rejected a Mulim's request to read them.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali is serving a 30-year sentence at the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, for joining al-Qaida and plotting to assassinate then-President George W. Bush. Last year, Abu Ali requested two books written by Obama: "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope."

But prison officials, citing guidance from the FBI, determined that passages in both books contain information that could damage national security.

A prison spokeswoman referred questions to the FBI, where a spokeswoman was looking into the matter Thursday evening.

The documents detailing the prison's rejection of Obama's books are included in court papers for a resentencing hearing scheduled later this month for Abu Ali, a U.S. citizen.

The rejection is just one indication of the harsh conditions imposed on inmates at the supermax prison, according to Abu Ali's lawyer, Joshua Dratel.

"Imagine an existence controlled by characters created by Louis (sic) Carroll, and that would approach that which Mr. Abu Ali faces each day for the duration of his sentence," Dratel wrote.

Abu Ali requested the books in August, before Obama was elected. In a short, handwritten note on a prison complaint form, Abu Ali argues that the two rejections "violate my 1st amend. rights" - referring to the part of the U.S. Constitution that promises free speech among other rights.

The rejections, as well as other restrictions on family visits, prompted a hunger strike by Abu Ali that has since ended, Dratel wrote. More

Obama claims right to imprison “combatants” acquitted at trial