By IRNA
London : An Algerian pilot wrongly accused of training the 9/11 hijackers is entitled to claim damages, the Court of Appeal in London ruled Thursday.
Evidence suggested police and prosecutors were responsible for “serious defaults” in detaining 33-year old Lotfi Raissi in jail for nearly five months, the court said.
Raissi, who has been seeking an apology for his detention, says his claim may run into millions of pounds.
Britain’s Home Office originally refused to pay him compensation for being deprived of his liberty because of a miscarriage of justice.
But presiding over the appeal, Lord Justice Hooper said that he was sure he could “expect to hear from the home secretary with the long-awaited apology very soon.”
The public labelling of the appellant as a terrorist by the British authorities and particularly by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over a period of many months has had a “devastating effect on his life and on his health,” the judge said.
“He considers that, unless he receives a public acknowledgement that he is not a terrorist, he will be unable to get his life back together again,” he said.
The Algerian pilot was arrested under Britain’s Terrorism Act at his home in the UK soon after the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington in 2001. He was accused of having trained the 19 hijackers.
After seven days he was released but was re-arrested under a extradition warrant issued at the request of the US government and remained in prison for four-and-a-half months until he was granted bail.
The CPS, representing the US, had objected to bail but by April 2002, a judge ruled that there was no evidence connecting him to terrorism.