Court Rules 9/11 Pilot Can Claim Damages

Chiswick’s Lofti Raissi “completely exonerated" of terror involvement

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The Court of Appeal has ruled that the pilot wrongly accused of training the 9/11 hijackers is entitled to claim damages after judges found "serious defaults" in the way he was treated.

Chiswick resident Lofti Raissi, who was the first person accused of participating in the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, initially lost his claim for compensation in the High Court at the beginning of last year. This latest ruling means that the government now has to reconsider the 33-year-old's requests.

Mr Raissi wants an apology and says his claim may run into millions of pounds.

Speaking after the judgement, he claimed he had suffered a miscarriage of justice, and had now been "completely exonerated".

"I am very glad. I always had faith in British justice. Surely I can expect to hear from the home secretary with the long-awaited apology very soon."

"They destroyed my life, they destroyed my career. For this I will never, ever forgive them."

His wife Sonia Raissi, had her claim for damages rejected by a High Court in December 2007. She was seeking damages in excess of £150,000 in a High Court action against the Metropolitan Police.

However, her brother in law Mohamed, who lives in Hounslow, was granted compensation on the grounds that his arrest went no further than the family relationship and the fact that the two men lived near one another. "In my judgment those grounds were not sufficient to justify his arrest," said the presiding judge. The amount of compensation he will receive is yet to be determined.

February 14, 2008