Lotfi Raissi
Encyclopedia
Lotfi Raissi was the first person charged in connection with the September 11, 2001 attacks
. However, in 2003 a British court ruled that the charges against Raissi were without evidence
, and that he had no association with the attacks. In April 2010 it was announced that he was eligible for compensation, the amount of which was as yet undecided.
. In November 1996 he moved to Phoenix, Arizona
, to attend flight school, including a 1998 stint at Sawyer School of Aviation a month after Hani Hanjour
quit.
In April 2000, when his student visa expired, he moved back to Algeria and then to London
, with his wife Sonia (née
Demolis), whom he had met in the United States
.
From June 11-18, 2001, Raissi had apparently visited Las Vegas
, while Ziad Jarrah
was in the city.
On his way home from the city, he was given a citation for speeding in Arizona.
(near Heathrow) at the time of the attacks. He was arrested at 3 am on September 21, 2001, when he was taken from his house naked, along with his wife Sonia and his brother.
The Times
obtained a copy of the FBI's initial request for information about Raissi. In it, The Times asserts that the FBI requested that British
authorities use discretion, in order not to tip him off that he was under suspicion.
Raissi's brother and wife Sonia were released by British police four days after the arrests, although Sonia lost her job working with Air France
and his brother's wife lost her job at Heathrow Airport as well.
From there Raissi was detained for five months at Belmarsh Prison, under suspicion of training the pilots who flew the jet into the Pentagon
. He was also charged with using a "false identity" having gone by the name "Fabrice Vincent Algier", and for conspiring to help Redouane Dahmani lie on his visa application
.
After a week of interrogation US officials, and British prosecutor James Lewis, made an extradition
request; ironically due to a lack of evidence that he was involved in the September 11 attacks, the only charge he could be held on was lying on his pilot's license by not revealing he had undergone knee surgery after a tennis
injury, and a charge for shoplifting
at a London airport dating to 1993. Raissi's attorney was Richard Egan.
British prosecutor Arvinder Sambei (who became a director of Amicus Legal Consultants, which is now Sambei, Bridger & Polaine) publicly announced that the FBI had discovered Raissi's name in Salem al-Hazmi
's rental vehicle; that a raid on Raissi's home had turned up video evidence of him and Hani Hanjour
celebrating together on his computer; that further telephone records confirmed their suspicions that he had trained four of the hijackers in an effort to help support terrorism against U.S. interests, that his pilot logbook was missing all data from March 2000-June 2001, and stated that they might seek the death penalty.
However once his trial began, they were unable to produce any such evidence. According to The Times;
On February 12, 2002, Judge Timothy Workman
allowed Raissi to post $14,000 bail
and surrender his passport, after stating that there seemed to be no credibility to the US claims.
He was formally released from charges on April 21.
the FBI and the Department of Justice
for $10 million, over claims that his life had been ruined by his being branded a terrorist and that he was unable to find work.
The suit, carried by Jules Carey of Tuckers Solicitors, alleges false imprisonment
, false arrest
, malicious prosecution
, malicious continuation of prosecution, abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence
in infliction of emotional distress. Amnesty International
's Paul Hoffman
was one of the lawyers handling the case.
Raissi launched a civil suit against the Mail on Sunday, for printing false information about criminal charges he faced, and citing the fact that airlines will not hire him based on the accusations against him. He was awarded an undisclosed sum.
On February 22, 2007, Mr Raissi lost his case in the UK High Court to claim compensation for wrongful arrest and the 5 months he spent in Belmarsh. Judges ruled him ineligible on the grounds that he had been held as part of an extradition case, rather than 'in the domestic criminal process'.
He took his case to the Court of Appeal and the High Court ruling was overturned, Appeal Judges stating that evidence showed the CPS and the Police were responsible for "serious defaults"
Raissi's case remains a contentious issue in Algeria, whose government refuses to sign an agreement with Britain about extraditing
hijackers until Britain acknowledges that its treatment of Raissi was flawed. British authorities continue to insist that British police and prosecutors acted properly, and it was American authorities who were at fault for supplying them with bad intelligence.
In February 2008 the Court of Appeal rejected this position, 'completely exonerated' Raissi, and ordered British authorities to reconsider his entitlement to compensation, which had previously been rejected. It also found that the Crown Prosecution Service and the police had presented false evidence to the courts.
His application for permission to enforce the order of the Court of Appeal, and contempt of court proceedings against the Home Office, resulted in an announcement on 23 April 2010 by the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw
that Raissi is eligible for up to £2m compensation.
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. However, in 2003 a British court ruled that the charges against Raissi were without evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
, and that he had no association with the attacks. In April 2010 it was announced that he was eligible for compensation, the amount of which was as yet undecided.
Background
Raissi was born and grew up in Bab el Oued, a suburb of AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. In November 1996 he moved to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, to attend flight school, including a 1998 stint at Sawyer School of Aviation a month after Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
quit.
In April 2000, when his student visa expired, he moved back to Algeria and then to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with his wife Sonia (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Demolis), whom he had met in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
From June 11-18, 2001, Raissi had apparently visited Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, while Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...
was in the city.
On his way home from the city, he was given a citation for speeding in Arizona.
Arrest and Investigation
Raissi was living outside ColnbrookColnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
(near Heathrow) at the time of the attacks. He was arrested at 3 am on September 21, 2001, when he was taken from his house naked, along with his wife Sonia and his brother.
The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
obtained a copy of the FBI's initial request for information about Raissi. In it, The Times asserts that the FBI requested that British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
authorities use discretion, in order not to tip him off that he was under suspicion.
Raissi's brother and wife Sonia were released by British police four days after the arrests, although Sonia lost her job working with Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
and his brother's wife lost her job at Heathrow Airport as well.
From there Raissi was detained for five months at Belmarsh Prison, under suspicion of training the pilots who flew the jet into the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. He was also charged with using a "false identity" having gone by the name "Fabrice Vincent Algier", and for conspiring to help Redouane Dahmani lie on his visa application
Visa fraud
Visa Fraud has different criteria in various parts of the world, but the commonly accepted points are the sale, provision, or transfer of otherwise legitimate visas, misrepresentation of reasons for traveling and forgery or alteration of a visa....
.
After a week of interrogation US officials, and British prosecutor James Lewis, made an extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
request; ironically due to a lack of evidence that he was involved in the September 11 attacks, the only charge he could be held on was lying on his pilot's license by not revealing he had undergone knee surgery after a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
injury, and a charge for shoplifting
Shoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
at a London airport dating to 1993. Raissi's attorney was Richard Egan.
British prosecutor Arvinder Sambei (who became a director of Amicus Legal Consultants, which is now Sambei, Bridger & Polaine) publicly announced that the FBI had discovered Raissi's name in Salem al-Hazmi
Salem al-Hazmi
Salem al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the September 11 attacks.A Saudi, Hazmi had a relatively long history with al-Qaeda before being selected for the attacks...
's rental vehicle; that a raid on Raissi's home had turned up video evidence of him and Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
celebrating together on his computer; that further telephone records confirmed their suspicions that he had trained four of the hijackers in an effort to help support terrorism against U.S. interests, that his pilot logbook was missing all data from March 2000-June 2001, and stated that they might seek the death penalty.
However once his trial began, they were unable to produce any such evidence. According to The Times;
|
On February 12, 2002, Judge Timothy Workman
Timothy Workman
Senior District Judge Timothy Workman CBE is a leading British judge, a long-term stipendiary magistrate who serves as Senior District Judge and Chief Magistrate for London....
allowed Raissi to post $14,000 bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
and surrender his passport, after stating that there seemed to be no credibility to the US claims.
He was formally released from charges on April 21.
Lawsuits
In September 2003, Raissi announced he was suingLawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
the FBI and the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
for $10 million, over claims that his life had been ruined by his being branded a terrorist and that he was unable to find work.
The suit, carried by Jules Carey of Tuckers Solicitors, alleges false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
, false arrest
False arrest
False arrest is a common law tort, where a plaintiff alleges they were held in custody without probable cause, or without an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction...
, malicious prosecution
Malicious prosecution
Malicious prosecution is a common law intentional tort, while like the tort of abuse of process, its elements include intentionally instituting and pursuing a legal action that is brought without probable cause and dismissed in favor of the victim of the malicious prosecution...
, malicious continuation of prosecution, abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
in infliction of emotional distress. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's Paul Hoffman
Paul Hoffman
Paul Hoffman is a prominent author and host of the PBS television series Great Minds of Science. He was editor in chief of Discover, in a ten-year tenure with that magazine, and served as president and publisher of Encyclopædia Britannica before returning full-time to writing and consulting work....
was one of the lawyers handling the case.
Raissi launched a civil suit against the Mail on Sunday, for printing false information about criminal charges he faced, and citing the fact that airlines will not hire him based on the accusations against him. He was awarded an undisclosed sum.
On February 22, 2007, Mr Raissi lost his case in the UK High Court to claim compensation for wrongful arrest and the 5 months he spent in Belmarsh. Judges ruled him ineligible on the grounds that he had been held as part of an extradition case, rather than 'in the domestic criminal process'.
He took his case to the Court of Appeal and the High Court ruling was overturned, Appeal Judges stating that evidence showed the CPS and the Police were responsible for "serious defaults"
Raissi's case remains a contentious issue in Algeria, whose government refuses to sign an agreement with Britain about extraditing
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
hijackers until Britain acknowledges that its treatment of Raissi was flawed. British authorities continue to insist that British police and prosecutors acted properly, and it was American authorities who were at fault for supplying them with bad intelligence.
In February 2008 the Court of Appeal rejected this position, 'completely exonerated' Raissi, and ordered British authorities to reconsider his entitlement to compensation, which had previously been rejected. It also found that the Crown Prosecution Service and the police had presented false evidence to the courts.
His application for permission to enforce the order of the Court of Appeal, and contempt of court proceedings against the Home Office, resulted in an announcement on 23 April 2010 by the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
that Raissi is eligible for up to £2m compensation.
External links
- findlaw.com, FindLaw.com pdf of grand jury charges of false identity
- My son was brought up to abhor terrorists, Telegraph OnlineThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, November 1, 2001 - Police blunder after 9/11 'destroyed pilot's career', Times OnlineThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, September 26, 2005 - Lotfi Raissi case: How false link to al-Qaida kept innocent Algerian in jail The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
22 November 2009