SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Human Rights Defense Center is suing St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman for violating the civil rights of the organization, which is meant to help the incarcerated learn about their civil and legal rights while in jail.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in late June, Redman “has a policy that prohibits prisoners from receiving periodicals unless they are by subscription and unless the periodical received is the current issue of the subscription. Based on this policy, the Sheriff has rejected a number of periodicals that HRDC (Human Rights Defense Center) has attempted to send to prisoners at the St. Joseph County Jail. At times, but not always, the Sheriff has also prohibited HRDC’s periodicals because they contain staples. At no time has the Sheriff provided an opportunity for HRDC to be heard concerning the censoring of these materials.”

HRDC is an extremely progressive publication that strives “to educate and assist prisoners and to inform the public about the destructive nature of racism, sexism, and the economic and social costs of prisons to society,” according to the federal complaint. The organization publishes a monthly magazine and claims to have sent its publications to more than 3,000 prisons and jails across the country.