Posted on 08/07/2002 3:37:18 AM PDT by kattracks
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Investment banker Mohammed Ali Kahn says he has gotten used to being selected for extra scrutiny by security personnel at airports since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But when he was detained by Las Vegas police and the FBI for more than an hour and still denied access to his prepaid seat after being cleared of any suspicion, Kahn said, "Enough is enough."
Kahn was traveling from Las Vegas to Minneapolis on Monday, July 29, when he says a Northwest Airlines ticket agent seemed suspicious of him as soon as he presented his driver's license for check in.
"If my name was 'John Smith' I would have been on that flight, on Northwest Airlines," Kahn told reporters during a press conference Tuesday at the National Press Club. "It comes down to racial and religious profiling. In all simplicity, that's what it's all about."
But Kahn's ordeal did not end with the ticket agent. After talking with a Northwest Airlines supervisor, Kahn says the Las Vegas police were called. Officers allegedly questioned and detained him, ordered him to accompany them to a "back room," and then brought in FBI agents before he was finally allowed to leave.
"The fear I felt was incredible. The humiliation I felt was incredible. And I kept saying to myself, 'Not in America. Not in this country where I grew up,'" Kahn related. "My parents didn't come here over 30 years ago for me to have to face something like this."
After answering all of the officers' and agents' questions - including providing confidential personal information - he says the FBI agents escorted him back to the ticket counter to tell Northwest Airlines that he was cleared to board the plane, with 20 minutes to spare.
"The Northwest agent said, 'Nope. You know what? We've already made arrangements for him to go on another airline,'" Kahn explained.
What Northwest Airlines didn't know is that this is not the first time Kahn says he has been the victim of racial profiling. They were also not aware that he is the treasurer of the American Muslim Council's board of directors, and an acquaintance of civil rights attorney Stanley Cohen.
"My client has decided that it's the proverbial 'three strikes and you're out,'" Cohen explained, referring to two previous traffic stops, which Kahn believes occurred only because of his race.
"On three occasions he's let these folks do it their way. Now we'll do it the American way," Cohen continued, "with judges and lawyers and witnesses and trials."
The attorney says within the next four to six weeks, Kahn will file a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Northwest Airlines for racial and religious discrimination, and against the Las Vegas Police and FBI for discrimination, unlawful detention, and other civil rights violations.
"Mr. Kahn has been humiliated [and] detained. He's been abused. He's been manhandled ... he's been illegally arrested. He's been kicked off an airplane, and for only one reason," Cohen charged. "His name is Kahn, Ali Kahn."
The incident is even more outrageous, Cohen said, when considered in light of the fact that Kahn was traveling on a round-trip ticket, purchased with a credit card, well in advance of his flight, was carrying luggage, and is a U.S. citizen.
"In all respects, he matched all the 'good things' that people getting on airplanes are supposed to have to do," Cohen added.
A spokeswoman for Northwest Airlines said the carrier's employees were simply following the rules.
"Northwest processed Mr. Kahn for travel in accordance with federal security regulations," said Mary Beth Schubert. "However, by the time the authorities cleared him to travel, he could not make his scheduled flight. So, to minimize his delay and inconvenience, we re-booked him on the next available flight, which was aboard a different carrier."
Special Agent Daron Borst with the Las Vegas field office of the FBI says their investigation indicates that everyone involved followed proper procedures.
"His name appeared on the Transportation Security Administration's 'No Fly List,' and, as per procedures, the airlines will not allow someone to fly until it has been determined that they are not the same person who is listed," he explained. "The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department ... [was] unable to positively eliminate him from being the same person on the list so they contacted us."
Borst said FBI agents interviewed Kahn for ten to 15 minutes and determined that he was not the person on the list, even though both his name and physical description were "a close match." They then escorted him back to the ticket counter, where he was cleared to fly.
"I do know that he was booked on another flight. I am under the impression that it was because he could not make the flight that he was scheduled on," Borst relayed. "The flight that he was booked on was direct to Chicago and arrived about 15 minutes later than his original flight [was scheduled to arrive]."
Schubert expressed Northwest Airlines' regrets over the incident.
"We certainly apologize to Mr. Kahn for any delay and inconvenience caused by heightened federal security requirements," she said. "And it is never our intent to discriminate against passengers on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion."
Cohen said whether the actions of the ticket agents, police officers, and FBI agents were "proper procedure" or not is irrelevant.
"All police departments must be on notice. You have no right, in the United States, to seize someone in the absence of either an arrest warrant or probable cause. And if you do do it, just as you did here, we're gonna sue you," he warned. "And the FBI must be on notice, that you have no right to exploit an illegal detention to go through your little checklist of 'terrorism tips,' or whatever it's called these days.
"The bottom line is ... we have something called 'the Constitution.' It very clearly sets the parameters that control what law enforcement can do, when and were, and what they can't do," Cohen said. "Detaining someone, just because of their name, remains illegal."
Borst says, however, that as long as the name "Mohammed Ali Kahn" stays on the TSA list as a potential "threat to aviation," the Chicago investment banker could face being detained again.
"If someone's name closely matches the list, they have to deal with this each time," he explained. "They can call ahead and arrange for this to be expedited. But it is the procedure that's in place."
That is Kahn's worst fear, but not just for himself.
"When another Muslim named Mohammed Ali Kahn checks in, he shouldn't have to go through this," he argued. "I don't want this to happen to any other Muslim American."
The Public Information Office of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to a request for an interview regarding this incident prior to publication of this article.
E-mail a news tip to Jeff Johnson.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
Sorry, Mr. Kahn, but we don't want 9/11 to happen to any other Americans.
The poor dear!
Why doesn't he do us all a favor and vote with his feet.
ML/NJ
Huge bump to your #1 comment, too.
Tell that to Sean Hannity, algore, the woman who had to drink her own breast milk, george mcgovern, Don Wade, and the granny who was strip-searched.
Of course, you don't want the guy they are REALLY looking for to be stopped and caught.
Make it as hard as possible to weed the real terrorists out of the crowd and make the airlines, police, FBI, etc. even more hesitant to stop anyone who is obviously middle eastern or Islamic. Methinks that they should take a MUCH closer look at this person and his motivation for filing these lawsuits.
Ruck
My advice to you, Mr. Khan: Quit yer, er...complaining.
I hope he's right. If they are profiling muslims, especially arab muslims, then I'd say it's about time. Concentrate security scrutiny on them and let the rest of us fly unhindered.
If arabs in the US don't like it, let'em go back to the ME where they belong. Nobody begged them to come crowding in here anyway.
Puhleeze. A few thousand Americans who lost their lives on 9/11 felt the same way. They are dead and you got your feelings hurt. Get over yourself, Mr. Mohammed Ali Kahn. If you are truly blameless, direct your anger and frustration at the murderers who hijacked those planes and at those who cheered them. They are the ones who have cast suspicion your way.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.