The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday, in the hopes of acquiring a court order to allow a 19 year-old Muslim Virginian, currently on the U.S. “no fly” list and detained in Kuwait, to return to the United States.
Gulet Mohamed of Alexandria, Virginia was prevented from boarding a plane to the United States in December and is currently being held by officials in Kuwait — undergoing questioning about possible ties to terrorists.
The suit calls for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, which would force the U.S. government to take Mohamed off the “no fly” list and bring him back to the United States.
“The United States is depriving Mr. Mohamed of perhaps the most basic prerogative of American citizenship: the right to be in the United States. This is patently unconstitutional, and it is up to this Court to bring Gulet Mohamed — an American citizen — back to his country,” the lawsuit reads.
Mohamed and CAIR also have alleged that he is being tortured and coerced by the agents holding him in custody.
“Currently, Mr. Mohamed is being detained in a Kuwaiti deportation facility after a week of torture, beatings, and threats to his life by captors speaking English and Arabic, seemingly directed by the United States. But instead of working for Mr. Mohamed’s return to the United States, Defendants have placed Mr. Mohamed on a no-fly list that is making it impossible for Kuwait to deport him,” the group’s lawsuit reads.
The suit names Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Terrorist Screening Center Director Timothy Healy and their agencies as the primary defendants and argues that Mohamed’s presence on the “no fly” list violates his right to due process.