WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- An American Muslim who spent time in Yemen says he was stopped in Cairo and put on the no-fly list, and has been unable to get home to Virginia.
FBI agents stopped Yahya Wehelie, 26, while he was changing planes after spending 18 months in Yemen and, after questioning him, put him on the no-fly list where he has been for six weeks, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Wehelie said agents turned down his offered to fly home handcuffed and flanked by air marshals.
"The lady told me that Columbus sailed the ocean blue a long time ago when there were no planes," Wehelie said in a telephone interview from Cairo. "I'm an innocent American in exile, and I have no way to get home."
Nihad Awad of the Council on American-Islamic Relations wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday to protest "apparently illegal pressure tactics" against Muslim-American travelers.
"If the FBI wishes to question American citizens, they should be allowed to return to the United States, where they will be able to maintain their constitutional rights free of threats or intimidation," Awad wrote.
FBI spokesman Michael Kortan said the bureau, as a matter of policy, does not comment on who is on a watch list. He said recent plots show the need "to remain vigilant and thoroughly investigate every lead."
"In conducting such investigations," Kortan said, "the FBI is always careful to protect the civil rights and privacy concerns of all Americans, including individuals in minority and ethnic communities."
