Saturday, January 22, 2011

Somali-American back in U.S.

A young Somali-American who was detained for weeks in Kuwait returned Friday to the United States.

Gulet Mohamed, 19, was reunited with his family at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, The Washington Post reported. But he did not clear Customs and Immigration until about two hours after his plane landed, and lawyers from the Council on American-Islamic Relations said he had been questioned by the FBI.

Kuwaiti authorities allegedly held Mohamed in December at the request of the United States. He said he was beaten and was questioned by FBI agents while he was in Kuwait.

U.S. authorities were apparently concerned because he traveled to Yemen and Somalia in 2009. His family said Mohamed, a U.S. citizen who lives in Virginia, went to Yemen to learn Arabic, left after a few weeks because he did not feel safe there and had been staying with relatives in Somalia and Kuwait.

Mohamed's name was also placed on a no-fly list. U.S. authorities allowed him to fly back to the United States after his family went to court.

"My voice has been heard," he said after he arrived at Dulles. "There's other Muslims and non-Muslims that are still being tortured."

Source: United Press International, Inc.

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