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Case of student detained for flying with Arabic flashcards is back in court
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Case of student detained for flying with Arabic flashcards is back in court
Tomorrow, the U.S. Court of Appeals for The Third Circuit in Philadelphia will hear arguments from the ACLU and lawyers for the federal government and federal agents on the case of Nick George, a college student who was detained for five hours at the Philly airport back in 2009. The reason for what the ACLU says was unconstitutional treatment by TSA and local police? A set of English-Arabic flashcards George had on him, for his studies at a Pomona College.
The question before the court is whether to overturn the federal District Court's decision not to dismiss George's case, which alleges that the TSA, FBI agents and Philly cops violated his First Amendment free speech rights and Fourth Amendment right to freedom from unreasonable seizure. (The Philly police are not part of the appeal, so the portion of the case against them will continue separately.)
According to the ACLU:
George was on his way back to Pomona College in California when he was asked to empty his pockets at an airport security screening point. After producing the flashcards, George was detained by two TSA agents in the screening area for 30 minutes. A TSA supervisor then arrived and aggressively questioned George, asking him whether he knew “who did 9/11” and what language Osama bin Laden spoke.
A Philadelphia police officer arrived and handcuffed George, then marched him through the terminal to the airport’s police station. George was locked in a cell for four hours – the first two hours still in handcuffs – and then interrogated for a half-hour by two FBI agents. He was never told why he was detained or informed of his rights. After a nearly five-hour ordeal, George was finally released without charge or apology but had to wait until the next day to travel.
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