LONDON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A Britain-based pilot who was wrongly accused of training the Sept. 11 hijackers has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the United States.
The BBC said Lotfi Raissi, who spent five months in London's Belmarsh prison, is suing the FBI and the Department of Justice for his arrest 10 days after two airliners smashed into New York's Twin Towers, a third hit the Pentagon and a fourth went down in a Pennsylvania field. Raissi said he was attacked and verbally abused while in prison.
A British court last year ruled there was no evidence to support the U.S. extradition request and now Raissi is asking for compensation and an apology.
The Algerian-born pilot's lawsuit alleges, among other things, false imprisonment, false arrest and malicious prosecution. He also argues the United States planned to make him a scapegoat because he was a Muslim pilot.
He told the BBC: "It's not for the money. It's the principle. My family doesn't deserve to be labeled as terrorists and I didn't deserve five months in prison."
