stephanie
03-24-2007, 04:51 PM
:clap:
By Pamela Miller, Star Tribune
Last update: March 22, 2007 – 10:53 PM
A Minneapolis attorney said Thursday that he'd be willing to defend without charge the unnamed "John Doe" passengers listed among the defendants in a lawsuit filed by six Muslim imams over their ejection from a US Airways flight in November.
Gerard Nolting, a partner in the downtown Minneapolis law firm of Faegre & Benson, said that although he has not spoken with those involved in the case, he's making his offer public because he's concerned that the lawsuit could have a "chilling effect on passengers who are only doing what they've been asked to do -- report suspicious behavior."
Meanwhile, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, based in Phoenix, said it will raise money for passengers' defense should they be named and targeted.
The organization's spokesman describes it as a think tank of moderate Muslims and their supporters.
The case of the imams has fed a national debate about religious rights vs. security concerns, fueled anew by the suit's "John Doe" aspect. The suit, in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, targets US Airways, the Metropolitan Airports Commission and "John Does" -- unnamed "passengers ... who contacted US Airways to report the alleged 'suspicious' behavior of plaintiffs performing their prayer at the airport terminal."
The imams' Manhattan attorney, Omar Mohammedi, said the suit "is directed at the airlines and the airport, not passengers."If someone has a legitimate security concern, we're not going after that person," he said. "Or if someone saw them praying and reported that out of ignorant fear, we aren't going to target that.
"But if someone lied and made a false report with the intention to discriminate, such as in saying the imams made anti-American comments and talked about Iraq when in fact nothing like that ever happened, we have the right to challenge that," Mohammedi said.
The rest at...
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1073326.html
By Pamela Miller, Star Tribune
Last update: March 22, 2007 – 10:53 PM
A Minneapolis attorney said Thursday that he'd be willing to defend without charge the unnamed "John Doe" passengers listed among the defendants in a lawsuit filed by six Muslim imams over their ejection from a US Airways flight in November.
Gerard Nolting, a partner in the downtown Minneapolis law firm of Faegre & Benson, said that although he has not spoken with those involved in the case, he's making his offer public because he's concerned that the lawsuit could have a "chilling effect on passengers who are only doing what they've been asked to do -- report suspicious behavior."
Meanwhile, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, based in Phoenix, said it will raise money for passengers' defense should they be named and targeted.
The organization's spokesman describes it as a think tank of moderate Muslims and their supporters.
The case of the imams has fed a national debate about religious rights vs. security concerns, fueled anew by the suit's "John Doe" aspect. The suit, in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, targets US Airways, the Metropolitan Airports Commission and "John Does" -- unnamed "passengers ... who contacted US Airways to report the alleged 'suspicious' behavior of plaintiffs performing their prayer at the airport terminal."
The imams' Manhattan attorney, Omar Mohammedi, said the suit "is directed at the airlines and the airport, not passengers."If someone has a legitimate security concern, we're not going after that person," he said. "Or if someone saw them praying and reported that out of ignorant fear, we aren't going to target that.
"But if someone lied and made a false report with the intention to discriminate, such as in saying the imams made anti-American comments and talked about Iraq when in fact nothing like that ever happened, we have the right to challenge that," Mohammedi said.
The rest at...
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1073326.html