Prosecutor Apology Ends Iraqi's 'Nightmare'
A federal prosecutor has apologized to an Iraqi refugee who was improperly arrested and jailed for failing to register under a special system.
U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan of the Western District of Washington said the arrest was because of a good-faith mistake by Border Patrol Agents, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports. Sullivan signed the apology and joined the American Civil Liberties Union to vacate an initial court ruling in the case, the ACLU announced yesterday.
Abdulameer Habeeb had been jailed and tortured in Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. He was arrested in 2003 when he stepped off an Amtrak train to stretch his legs near the Canadian border. Border agents had mistakenly believed he was required to register under a special system, despite his status as a refugee.
Habeeb spent seven days in jail, where detainees mocked him and called him “Saddam.” He lost his job, and the United States moved to deport him.
The ACLU called the case an example of racial profiling. “Federal agents singled out Mr. Habeeb based on his race and ethnicity,” board president Jesse Wing of the ACLU of Washington said in a press release.
Habeeb told the Times he is pleased with the result. “I thought for a moment that this is it, my life is done, this is the end of my life in this country,” he said. “My nightmare stopped.”
