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January 6, 2009

JetBlue & TSA Officials Pay Raed Jarrar $240,000 Settlement
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Jet Blue Airways and two Transportation Security Authority officials
have paid out $240,000 to the Iraqi-born blogger Raed Jarrar, who sued
after he was stopped from boarding a Jet Blue flight at JFK Airport
because he was wearing a t-shirt that said “We will not be silent” in
both Arabic and English. Jarrar first spoke about the incident on
Democracy Now! Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New
York Civil Liberties Union filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on
Jarrar’s behalf. ACLU attorney Aden Fine said, “This settlement should
send a clear message to all TSA officials and airlines that they cannot
discriminate against passengers based on their race or the ethnic
content of their speech.” The settlement was announced just days after
the airline Air Tran removed a Muslim family of nine heading to Orlando.
Air Tran refused to let the family fly on the airline even after they
were questioned and cleared by the FBI.



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