Muslim man wins human rights case of post-9/11 paranoia
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 | 10:56 PM PT
The Canadian Press
The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has awarded an Arab Muslim man originally from Jordan $11,000 for what he went through because people at his workplace suspected he helped organize the 9/11 attacks.
Ghassan Asad, who gained Canadian citizenship a month before the attacks on the United States, was questioned by RCMP after co-workers at a high-tech firm reported that he had visited New York and Washington a few weeks before Sept. 11, 2001.
The Mounties spent three days questioning Asad but no charges were laid.
When he returned to work after his trip, Asad was told by his bosses that police were called for a legitimate reason, saying he resembled the men involved in the 9/11 attacks.
One co-worker at Kinexus Bioinformatics Corp. thought Asad, who was in his early 30s at the time, had given up candy as a fasting ritual.
In a 227-page decision released on Wednesday, the tribunal concluded that the company's management engaged in "improper conduct" that had a "serious and substantial impact" on Asad.
The timing and itinerary of Asad's trips to the U.S. were "most unfortunate," it said.
"Having considered all of the evidence, I have found that Kinexus discriminated against Mr. Asad regarding his employment because of his race, religion, place of origin and political belief," the ruling said.
The tribunal dismissed the second part of his complaint, that he had been unfairly fired in March 2003.
