Lawyer: US man fears return after treatment
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — An attorney for a man who claims he was tortured in the United Arab Emirates at the behest of the U.S. government says his client is too afraid to attempt to travel back to the United States.
American Muslim Yonas Fikre sued the FBI and the State Department last year alleging the agencies demanded that he spy on a Portland mosque. When he refused, he says he was tortured in a UAE prison.
The State Department previously confirmed that Fikre was held in Abu Dhabi.
At a hearing Friday in U.S. District Court, government attorneys said Fikre couldn't claim that he suffered harm from placement on the government's no-fly list because he hasn't tried to fly home.
Fikre's attorney says Fikre remains scarred by his previous experience.
