LONDON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- An Algerian-born British pilot is seeking an apology and compensation for being imprisoned for five months after the Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. terror attacks.
Documents obtained by The Times of London suggest Scotland Yard overreacted to an FBI request for "discreet" information on Lotfi Raissi, 31.
The FBI asked for Scotland Yard's assistance in tracing Raissi on Sept. 17, 2001. The formal request stated, "The FBI request that this matter be handled as expeditiously and discreetly as possible." The words "expeditiously" and "discreetly" are in bold-faced type.
Police arrested Raissi at gunpoint at his flat at 3 a.m., and marched him naked to a police car. Formal terrorism charges were never filed against him, but at extradition hearings prosecutors alleged he had taught four of the hijackers how to fly.
Raissi wants a public apology from the British government, and is seeking a judicial review of the Home Secretary's refusal of his compensation claim.
"I want a full, unreserved apology and compensation for the destruction of my career and all the harm that has been done to my family," he said.
