FBI Sued Over Use of ‘Illegal’ Watchlist on Pro-Palestine Activists
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Greater Los Angeles Area office (CAIR-LA) have launched the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that the government placed one Palestinian-American on the No Fly List and seized the electronic device of another while interrogating him about his lawful activism.
According to CAIR, Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid and Mr. Mustafa Zeidan, both US citizens of Palestinian descent, have been subjected to detention and questioning.
Irshaid has reportedly been detained at the border multiple times, during which federal agents have seized his phone and questioned him about his associations and work.
“Only one thing has changed for Dr. Abu Irshaid in recent months: his constant and passionate advocacy for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and an end to the United States’ complicity in that genocide,” reads the lawsuit.
Read More:
Zeidan, who also “organizes a weekly protest to call for an end to Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza,” was barred from boarding a flight to Jordan to visit his ailing mother without explanation, according to the lawsuit.
CAIR argues that these actions are not for security purposes but are instead targeting individuals for their lawful exercise of constitutional rights.
The organization has received reports from Americans nationwide who have faced similar treatment for their activism in support of Palestine.
Source: Agencies
