Fort Hood Suspect 'Can Be Forcibly Shaved'

An Army appeals court has ruled the Fort Hood shooting suspect can have his facial hair forcibly shaved off before his trial.

The US Army Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the military trial judge's decision to order Major Nidal Hasan to appear in court clean shaven or be forcibly shaved.

It also ruled that Colonel Gregory Gross, the judge, correctly ruled the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not give Hasan the right to have a beard while in uniform at trial.

Hasan has said the beard is an expression of his Muslim faith. His lawyers will appeal the ruling.

The 42-year-old faces the death penalty if convicted of the 2009 attack that killed 13 and wounded more than two dozen others on the Texas Army post.

The Army has specific guidelines on forced shaving.

A team of five military police officers restrains the inmate "with the reasonable force necessary", and a medical professional is on hand in case of injuries.

The shaving must be done with electric clippers and must be videoed, according to Army rules.

Hasan would not be the first military defendant to be shaved against their will.

It has been done to five inmates since 2005, including one man who was forcibly shaved twice, according to the Army's Office of the Chief of Staff.