$1.26M awarded by U.S. to Muslims in suit

NEW YORK, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. government will pay $1.26 million to five Muslim men wrongly arrested in a post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorist sweep, attorneys say.

Documents filed Monday in Brooklyn (N.Y.) Federal Court indicated the government admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement with the men, the New York Daily News reported.

"We were deprived of our rights and abused simply because of our religion and the color of our skin," plaintiff Yasser Ebrahim, 37, who now lives in Egypt, told the newspaper. "After seven long years, I am relieved to be able to try to rebuild my life. ... I sincerely hope this will never happen again."

The plaintiffs charged they were jailed, and eventually deported, simply because of racial profiling. Listed as defendants were then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

The Daily News said the men also alleged they were abused inside the federal lock-up in Brooklyn, with guards smashing their faces into a wall adorned with an American flag T-shirt bearing the slogan, "These colors don't run."