Hiiraan Online
3/29/2024
Today from Hiiraan Online:
Home
Somali Map
Sports
Opinion
RSS
Somali Music
Contact Us
Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
advertisements
Family of Texas boy arrested over clock demands $15m in damages
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Lawyers for 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed request $10m from city and $5m from school district after homemade clock was mistaken for bomb
Ahmed Mohamed speaks at the White House last month after receiving an invitation from Barack Obama.
advertisements
The family of a Texas Muslim teenager arrested for bringing a homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb to school demanded $15m in damages and an apology from the city of Irving and its schools to avoid a lawsuit, lawyers said on Monday.
The lawyers represent the family of Ahmed Mohamed, 14, a student who dabbles in robotics and attended a Dallas-area high school. His arrest in September sparked controversy, with many saying he was taken into custody because of his religion.
In separate letters to the city of Irving, located west of Dallas, and the Irving independent school district, lawyers said the ninth grader was wrongfully arrested, illegally detained and questioned without his parents.
The Mohamed family is asking for $10m from the city and $5m from the school district or they will file civil lawsuits within 60 days, the letter said.
“Understandably, Mr Mohamed was furious at the treatment of his son – and at the rancid, openly discriminatory intent that motivated it,” attorneys said in one of the letters.
The school district said in a statement its lawyers are reviewing the letter and will respond appropriately. City officials were not immediately available for comment.
The boy’s family said in October that they would be moving to Qatar and he had accepted an offer from the Qatar Foundation to study at its Young Innovators Program. The announcement came a few hours after he was at the White House for an astronomy night hosted by Barack Obama.
Ahmed won support from Obama and other major US figures, including Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who said “having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest”.
The family, now living in Doha, has also traveled the globe to meet foreign dignitaries.
Sudanese state radio reported that his father took him to meet Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The Sudanese leader is accused by the International Criminal Court of masterminding genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during Sudan’s Darfur conflict.
Despite several television appearances and worldwide travel, the Mohamed family says the attention ruined their lives and eventually drove them out of the country, lawyers said.
Police: 2 dead, 1 seriously injured after shooting in S. Minneapolis
- My Fox 9
Three Somalis killed in South Africa's xenophobia attacks
- HOL
Somalia’s Al-Qaeda branch warns members against joining IS
- AFP
European Union announces Sh5.4 b for repatriation of Somali refugees
- Standard Digital
Minnesota man gets 4 years' probation in Islamic State case
- AP
Chinese companies are learning that investing in Africa isn't easy
- Economist
Alarming increase in hunger for Ethiopia
- Examiner
Recent floods damage supply routes, vital infrastructure in Somalia, UN relief wing warns
- UN News Centre
Shisha obsession destroys Somali forests
- Arabnews
Somali PM makes minor cabinet reshuffle, two ministers replaced
- HOL
Ban appoints veteran British political, peacebuilding adviser to head UN assistance mission in Somalia
- UN News Center
Home
Email