The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, and its Greater Los Angeles Area office (CAIR-LA) today held press conferences in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., announcing the filing of a lawsuit against the federal government for placing one Palestinian American on the No Fly List and for seizing the electronic device of another while interrogating him about organizing against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
WATCH:
- CAIR-LA Press Conference Announcing Lawsuit Against FBI for Placing Palestinian American on No Fly List
- CAIR, CAIR-LA Announce Suit Against FBI for Illegal, Racist Watchlist Against Palestinian-Americans
In May 2024, CAIR-LA’s client, Mustafa Zeidan, discovered he was placed on the No Fly List after he submitted a redress inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security to ask why he was denied boarding on a March 28, 2024, flight out of the Los Angeles International Airport. Zeidan had been regularly flying to Jordan to care for his sick mother and had increased his visits during the last two years, during which he has flown to see his mother every two to three months without issue.
While attempting to retrieve his boarding pass on March 28, Zeidan was stopped by airport security, who informed him that he would not be allowed to board the flight. After security refused to tell him why he was being denied boarding, Zeidan had no other choice but to leave the airport.
Zeidan’s placement on the No Fly List came several months after he started consistently organizing lawful and peaceful protests in his city against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
In its lawsuit, CAIR states in part:
“Mr. Zeidan travels to Jordan several times a year to visit and take care of his ailing mother. After purchasing a ticket to see her in May of this year, he showed up to the airport, only for officials at the airport to tell him that he was forbidden from boarding his flight because of his status on the Government’s secret list. The government has given Mr. Zeidan no explanation for why he’s been placed on the No Fly List after years of flying overseas without any issues. Only one thing has changed in the last several months for Mr. Zeidan: he organizes a weekly protest to call for an end to Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and the United States’ complicity in that genocide.”
In a statement, CAIR-LA Managing Attorney Dina Chehata, Esq. said:
“Since last October, Mr. Zeidan has become a leading advocate in his community for Palestinian rights, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s campaign of murder, displacement, starvation, and destruction … Mr. Zeidan’s activism is not just constitutionally protected activity—it is heroic.
“Every human deserves to have the right to freedom of movement, to leave any country, including his own, and never be afraid to use his voice to speak up against injustice and tyranny. Mr. Zeidan came to the United States thirty years ago to exercise these freedoms, and we will fight to make sure he has them.”
In a statement, Plaintiff Mustafa Zeidan said:
“Being placed on the No Fly List has left me feeling deeply humiliated and distressed. I now face the additional burden of having to hire someone else to care for my sick mother. Having visited her regularly for years, I am perplexed as to why I am suddenly being denied access.
“Could it be related to my recent activism? Since Oct. 7, I have been legally and peacefully protesting against genocide, ethnic cleansing, the killing of children and women, the bombing of schools, and the starvation of innocent Palestinians … This [placement on the No Fly List] has significantly impacted both of our mental well-being and is taking a heavy toll on my life.”
Since Oct. 7, CAIR has received numerous reports from Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Americans across the country who have been questioned and harassed by federal law enforcement officials for their advocacy in support of Palestine and against the United States’ complicity in Israel’s violence.
SEE: CAIR, CAIR-LA Announce Suit Against FBI for Using Illegal, Racist Watchlist Against Palestinian-Americans
The lawsuit is among the first to challenge the FBI’s apparent decision to target innocent people who speak up in support of Palestine and criticize Israel’s devastating violence and illegal occupation of Palestine.
As the result of lawsuits filed by CAIR, the FBI has previously removed more than ten of the civil rights group’s clients from the No Fly List, including Yonas Fikre, the plaintiff in CAIR’s historic Supreme Court watchlist case.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or [email protected]; CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed, [email protected]