LOS ANGELES – A University of California, Berkeley student and former Iraqi refugee says he was unfairly removed from a flight in Los Angeles this month because another passenger was alarmed by an innocent conversation he was having in Arabic.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement Sunday that the passenger, Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, was taken off the April 9 flight to Oakland for questioning. But the airline said it has not received a direct complaint from Makhzoomi and he has not responded to attempts to reach him.
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Makhzoomi tells the New York Times that he was calling his uncle before the flight to tell him about a speech he had attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and mentioned the Islamic State group because he had asked the secretary general a question on the subject.
The FBI says it responded by request, but it found no further action necessary.
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