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Abdallah Higazy

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Name
  
Abdallah Higazy


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Education
  
Polytechnic Institute of New York University

Abdallah Higazy is a citizen of Egypt residing in the United States who sued alleging that the FBI coerced a confession from him.

Contents

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Arrest

Higazy was arrested following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He alleges that the FBI threatened to torture his family unless he confessed to being involved in the attacks. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan, issued a decision holding that Higazy had stated a 5th Amendment claim, and then removed the decision from the court's website and shortly thereafter replaced it with a redacted version. The redacted version omitted approximately one page of details relating to the FBI's alleged interrogation of Higazy during a polygraph examination. On September 24, 2009, Abdallah was paid approximately $250,000 by the FBI for his treatment and wrongful detention.

Facts as stated by the court

According to the original opinion, Higazy was an Egyptian student staying at the Millenium Hilton Hotel near the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Hotel security claimed they found an aviation radio in Higazy's safe. The FBI questioned Higazy, guessing he might somehow have been communicating with or aiding the 9/11 pilots. Higazy denied he owned the radio.

The FBI wanted Higazy to be detained as a material witness, but the federal judge allowed only a 10-day detention, because the evidence suggesting Higazy's involvement in 9/11 was not very strong. On the ninth day, an FBI agent conducted a polygraph test during which, according to Higazy, the agent told Higazy that unless Higazy confessed to owning the radio, they would "make sure that Egyptian security (gave) his family Hell," which both parties understood to include torture. Higazy confessed to owning the radio. A criminal complaint was then filed against Higazy, and he was detained without bail.

Approximately three weeks later, the airline pilot who actually owned the radio returned to the Millenium Hilton Hotel to reclaim his property, which he had left at the hotel. Two days later, Higazy was released after spending a total of 34 days in custody.

Subsequent media coverage

The CBS television show 60 Minutes interviewed Higazy in 2004, and the CBS website includes most of Higazy's allegations. A newspaper account of the redaction quotes the clerk for the appellate court stating that the decision to reissue the opinion in redacted format was not done at the request of the Justice Department or the FBI, and that the redacted information was originally sealed for the safety of Higazy and his family.

References

Abdallah Higazy Wikipedia