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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

7th Circuit Dismisses Claim Of Beaten Pilot

CHICAGO (CN) - The 7th Circuit found it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case of an Iranian-born pilot who was detained and beaten days after 9/11.

Ahmad Farid Khorrami found himself under a cloud of suspicion in the days after the attacks, as the FBI connected him to an apartment that was used by the terrorists.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service interrogated Khorrami for 12 hours.

"I know you're one of them," one agent said, accusing Khorrami of arranging a phony marriage to stay in the country. He threatened to cancel Khorrami's visa.

Why would the INS do this? Khorrami asked.

"You're a Muslim, and you're fair game," the agent replied. "Because I feel like it, I can and will do it."

Days later, an FBI agent forced Khorrami to take a lie detector test. When he didn't like the answers, he threw Khorrami to the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the stomach.

One day later, the FBI found that Khorrami should not be on any terrorist watch list. Newspapers wrote that the alleged connection of Khorrami's flight school to the terrorists was not true.

The district court granted the government's motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim but did not rule on the government's claim of qualified immunity. Judge Wood ruled that the circuit cannot hear the case because "the district court did not reject the qualified immunity defense."

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