|
|
| Prison Imam sues over loss of security clerance (333431) | |
 |
|
| Home > OTChat | |
[ Post a New Response | Return to the Index ]
|
| (333431) | |
Prison Imam sues over loss of security clerance |
|
|
Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Sun Jul 6 13:49:47 2008 reported about the same time as that Iranian AZ story just posted.Charging violation of his constitutional rights to free speech and religion, equal protection and due process, nuclear scientist and prison imam Moniem El-Ganayni filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the Department of Energy and its acting deputy secretary, Jeffrey F. Kupfer. The action stems from the loss of Dr. El-Ganayni's security clearance, and hence his job, at Bettis Laboratory in West Mifflin, based on unspecified grounds of "national security." It does not seek to overturn the revocation, but rather the right to see the alleged evidence against him -- he doubts any exists -- and the chance to contest the decision "before a nonpolitical, neutral arbiter, as mandated by DOE regulations." "The government has offered no factual details in this case. All they've done is to parrot boilerplate language from the DOE," said Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is representing Dr. El-Ganayni along with lawyers from the Downtown offices of Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis. "There are ways to handle classified information without compromising national security," he said. "The government has done it before." The suit says Dr. El-Ganayni was damaged by the government's actions and, in addition to a hearing, seeks affirmation of his rights as a U.S. citizen, plus costs and attorneys' fees. National security, the suit alleges, was invoked "solely to shield the agency from having to disclose the unconstitutional retaliatory and discriminatory reasons" for its action. In reality, it says, the decision was made "because he is a foreign-born Muslim who has spoken publicly and critically about U.S. foreign policy and the FBI's treatment of Muslims." The 29-page complaint sets out a scenario of post-9/11 suspicion and harassment against local Muslims, and Dr. El-Ganayni's opposition to it. It says he was visited by government agents at his home, asked to inform on other Muslims (he refused) and denied boarding passes on routine airline flights when his American-born wife went right through. Dr. El-Ganayni came to the United States from Egypt in 1980, became a U.S. citizen in 1988 and started work at the Bettis nuclear propulsion research facility in 1990. He earned his advanced degrees at the University of Pittsburgh, co-founded the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, and ministered to prisoners in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He contends that he never had a clearance problem at work until he began speaking out against the Iraq war and the FBI's efforts to recruit informants at local mosques. ---- he must be a moderate. He thinks you can do whatever you want in a mosque. I wonder if he only wants the evidence against him and the methods so that others may change their manner and get around the loopholes easier. I know if I was going to do something wrong, that's what I'd want to know. |
|
|