Settlement reached in Six Imams case
In a Nov. 21, 2006 file photo, Omar Shahin, one of six imams removed from a US Airways Phoenix-bound plane at the Minnepolis-St. Paul International Airport, waits at the Northwest counter, where he successfully purchased a ticket. Shahin and five other imams who were removed a day earlier from the US Airways flight have reached a tentative settlement of their discrimination lawsuit. The imams' attorney, Omar Mohammedi said Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2009 that all sides agreed to the settlement at a conference Monday.
MINNEAPOLIS — Six imams who were removed from a US Airways flight in 2006 after passengers reported what they considered suspicious behavior have reached a tentative settlement of their discrimination lawsuit, one of their attorneys said Tuesday.
A one-page court form filed Tuesday said a settlement had been reached at a conference Monday in St. Paul with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan. The form said the conference lasted seven hours and 20 minutes, and that the terms of the settlement were confidential. It gave few other details.
“It is true,” attorney Omar Mohammedi told The Associated Press. “We’re still trying to finalize the details, but a settlement has been reached.”
Mohammedi declined to give the terms of the settlement, which he said will require approval from the federal judge handling the case, Ann Montgomery. He estimated that might take two weeks or so.
One of the imams, Marwan Sadeddin of Phoenix, said the settlement does not include an apology but he considers it an acknowledgment that a mistake was made. He said he couldn’t divulge the terms because both sides had agreed not to discuss them publicly.
“It’s fine for all parties. It’s been solved. … There is no need for a trial,” Sadeddin said.
An attorney for US Airways Group Inc., Michael Lindberg, declined to comment.
Authorities in Minneapolis removed the imams from the Phoenix-bound flight in November 2006 while they were returning home from a conference of the North American Imams Federation clerics. Passengers had reported that the imams were saying their evening prayers in Arabic in the airport concourse before boarding the plane and that some of the men made critical comments about the Iraq war while aboard.
The imans were questioned for several hours before they were released. They ultimately returned home via another airline.
Another of the imams, Omar Shahin, who is head of the North American Imams Federation, said the settlement sends “a strong message to the community” that the country values justice.
“It’s a settlement that’s satisfactory for all of us,” Shahin said.
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Tags: Discrimination, Imams, lawsuit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, US Airways
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