WASHINGTON DC — A man was wrongfully put on the FBI’s no-fly list and ended up stuck in a different country for four years.
The government created the no-fly list in the wake of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks. It’s a list of people who are believed to pose a national security risk and aren’t allowed to board a commercial flight in U.S. Air space.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case of a Muslim American from Oregon who says he was stranded overseas for more than four years because he was wrongfully put on the no-fly list.
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It stemmed from Yonas Fikre’s association with a particular mosque.
“What respondent wants is vindication,” The assistant to the Solicitor General of the Department of Justice, Sopan Joshi said.
Fikre was taken off the no-fly list in 2016, and the Government argues his lawsuit should be thrown out.
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“Respondent’s no-fly claims are moot. He’s not on the list. He hasn’t been on the list in eight years and he won’t be put back on the list in the future based on the currently available information,” Joshi said.
But Fikre’s attorneys are arguing that the government’s mistake had long-lasting damage to his life.
“Mr. Fikre is peaceful. A law-abiding U.S. citizen,” Gadeir Abbas, Attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said.
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They argue that despite the Government’s claims it will not put him back on the list, the possibility remains a real threat to Fikre.
“He doesn’t know if the time if he worships at a mosque or travels abroad he might be relisted, massively disrupting his life once again,” Abbas said.
The Supreme Court justices are weighing the arguments made in court, a decision is expected to by handed down by the summer.
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