| Date: | Friday September 19, @05:56AM |
|---|---|
| Author: | ewing2001 |
| Topic: | News |
| from the BBC/Guardian dept. | |
Once described by the F.B.I. as "official teacher" of "Pentagon-pilot" Hani Hanjour, Raissi tries again to file a lawsuit against the U.S.
In 2002, British court said already "there was no evidence to back up the US extradition claim".
The question since then: If Raissi wasn't Hanjour's teacher, then who flew the plane?
BBC
Guardian
-Tuesday, 16 September, 2003
An Algerian pilot wrongly accused by the United States government of training some of the September 11 hijackers is to sue the FBI and the Department of Justice for $20m (about £13m), his British lawyers announced yesterday.
..The US claimed that Mr Raissi had personally trained four of the hijackers, including Mohammed Atta, and that they had evidence of his connections to them, including audio and video tape.
They said: "We have sufficient evidence to show not just association with the pilots - it goes further than that. We have evidence of active conspiracy, proving correspondence and telecommunications with them as well as video footage of them together. We also have proof that they travelled together."
The video turned out to be a webcam shot of Mr Raissi with not a hijacker, but his cousin.
...Federal prosecutors said in 2001 that investigators believed Raissi had trained at an Arizona aviation school with Hani Hanjour, one of five hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon, and investigators were seeking flight school records as support.
BBC
Lotfi Raissi, who spent five months in London's Belmarsh prison, is suing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Justice.
Arrested at the behest of the FBI, 10 days after two airliners smashed into New York's Twin Towers, Mr Raissi said he was attacked and verbally abused while in prison.
A British court said there was no evidence to back up the US extradition claim and now Mr Raissi wants compensation and an apology for his ordeal.
He is alleging false imprisonment, false arrest and malicious prosecution among other charges.
Algerian-born Mr Raissi has always argued the US planned to make him a scapegoat because he was a Muslim pilot.
'Blacklisted'
Since his release, he has been treated by a psychiatrist and says he is unable to find work flying planes.
"I can't fly aeroplanes anymore. I've been blacklisted from all airlines," Mr Raissi told BBC News Online. "All I have wanted is to clear my name,"
Had an apology over his treatment been given, he would not be resorting to legal action, he added.
"I'm a victim of the September 11th atrocity. I lost my career and they destroyed my life,"
"It's not for the money, it's the principle. My family doesn't deserve to be labelled as terrorists and I didn't deserve five months in prison."
Solicitor Jules Carey told BBC News Online: "He has certainly suffered psychologically. The case that was ordered against him has been ruinous both professionally and personally.
The solicitor said legal action was also planned against the Crown Prosecution Service and police in the UK.
The pilot was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 at his home on 21 September 2001.
When no terrorist charges had been brought against him after five months in jail, he was freed on bail.
But the US Government said he was still a suspect and sought extradition for falsifying an application to the Federal Aviation Authority for a US pilot's licence.
But it transpired this charge related only to a spent conviction for stealing a briefcase in 1993 and a knee operation he had not mentioned on the form.
In April 2002, a district judge at Bow Street Magistrates rejected the extradition bid and discharged Mr Raissi.
Hijack suspect sues US for $20 million Raissi sues US for ruining his life Accused Trainer of Hijackers Seeks $$$ Algerian pilot sues US over terror charges CLEARED PILOT TO SUE Freed Terror Suspect Seeks Damages from US WORLD IN BRIEF Pilot once accused of being 9/11 'chief instructor'; sues US Pilot freed in Britain after accusation of training hijackers ... Algerian pilot instructor sues US
Related Sources
Rediff, India - Sep 16, 2003
... the FBI. Twenty-nine-year old Lotfi Raissi is claiming US $10 million
in damages from each of the two institutions. His British ...
Pilot sues US over 9/11 arrest - BBC News
9/11 suspect sues USA, FBI for $20 m - The Statesman
Pilot accused of training Sept 11 hijackers sues FBI - ABC Online
This is London
Middle East Online, UK - Sep 16, 2003
... Lotfi Raissi, 29, is claiming 10 million dollars (8.8 million euros) from both
the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI ...
KABC, CA - Sep 15, 2003
In Los Angeles, attorney Paul Hoffman said Lotfi Raissi will sue if claims
mailed to the FBI and Justice Department are ignored or rejected. ...
Guardian, UK - Sep 15, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, 29, who spent five months in Belmarsh high security prison following
the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, had originally been ...
Sky News, UK - Sep 16, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, 29, was arrested in the UK within days of the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon and was described by investigating ...
Reuters, UK - Sep 16, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, a British-based Algerian who studied at a flight school
in Arizona, was arrested in London 10 days after the Sept. ...
Washington Post, DC - Sep 16, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, 29, was cleared of wrongdoing by a British judge, who said US officials
failed to present any evidence to back up their accusations that he had ...
Hindustan Times, India - Sep 15, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, 29, is claiming $10 million from both the US Department of Justice
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to The Times. ...
San Jose Mercury News, CA - Sep 15, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, 29, will sue if claims mailed to the FBI and the Justice Department
are ignored or rejected, attorney Paul Hoffman in Los Angeles said Monday. ...
Irib, Iran - Sep 15, 2003
Lotfi Raissi, 29, is claiming 10 million dollars (8.8 million euros) from both
the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI ...
BBC -Tuesday, 7 October, 2003
The UK-based pilot wrongly accused of training the September 11 hijackers says he will continue legal action against the Metropolitan Police and US officials.
Algerian-born Lotfi Raissi won undisclosed damages from the Mail on Sunday in the High Court on Monday over an article claiming he was involved in the conspiracy.
The pilot instructor spent five months in London's Belmarsh prison after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asked for him to be arrested shortly after the September 11 attacks.
A British court said there was no evidence to back up the US extradition request and Mr Raissi is still looking for compensation and an apology for his ordeal.
Life threatening
Mr Raissi, 29, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday he would continue with his action against the FBI, the US Department of Justice, the British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Metropolitan Police.
"We demonstrated that there is no truth in all the allegations," he said.
"It has been manipulated by the FBI from the start."
Mr Raissi has always argued the US planned to make him a scapegoat because he was a Muslim pilot.
He said the Mail on Sunday's articles made his time in Belmarsh, as his extradition was sought to the US, even more difficult
The paper claimed Mr Raissi had dishonestly used the social security number of a dead grandmother, Dorothy Hansen, to create a fake US identity.
But the article failed to make any reference to the fact that Mr Raissi had vehemently denied the allegations against him.
"The more those allegations came out, they put my life at risk in Belmarsh Prison, especially in the high tension after September 11 and especially around dangerous inmates," he told the Today programme.
His solicitor, Louis Charalambous said that it was accepted by the Mail on Sunday's owners, Associated Newspapers, that there was no evidence whatsoever to support the claims that Mr Raissi had been involved in the conspiracy.
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printed from Lotfi Raissi is back: Lawsuit against U.S. on 2004-05-31 10:28:15