Pilot, vet sues to get off terror list

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. Army veteran on the U.S. terror watch list is suing the federal government to have his name removed from the list.

CNN reported Friday that Erich Scherfen, who received an honorable discharge after 13 years of military service, was hired as a pilot by Colgan Air Inc., a regional airline.

In April, the Schuylkill Haven, Pa., man's employer told him he was on a government terror suspect list and said he would be fired unless he could clear his name by Sept. 1.

Scherfen, who is a convert to Islam and is married to a Pakistani woman, says he has been unable to get his name off the government list. He sued this week to have his name removed.

"My entire career depends on me getting off this list," he told CNN. "I probably won't be able to get a job anywhere else in the world having this mark that I'm on this list."

Witold Walczak, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing Scherfen, called his client's treatment "unfair" and "unjust."

"It is quite clear when the government does something that takes away not just your job, but your occupation, your career, they have to provide you with some means to clear your name," Walczak said.