9/11 Detainee Wins $300,000 in Damages
Government settles to pay for abuse and violation
of constitutional rights
Ehab Elmaghraby with his parents
The US government has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by an Egyptian who was among dozens of Muslims detained after the Sept. 11 attacks, held for months and deported, The New York Times reported yesterday.
The settlement is the first the government has made in a number of suits saying that non-citizens were abused and their constitutional rights violated after the attacks.
Lawyers representing both Ehab Elmaghraby, an Egyptian who lived in the United States for 13 years and ran a restaurant in Manhattan, and Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani, who is still pursuing the suit, described the outcome as significant.
Elmaghraby, 38, was reported to have reluctantly decided to settle to cover medical bills arising from the abuse he suffered when detained.
The Feds are still appealing the judicial process — trying to exempt Ashcroft from testifying and cross-examination.
Posted: Wed - March 1, 2006 at 06:25 AM