A British woman has taken to court to get an apology from the counter-terrorism police after they detained her for reading a Syrian art book aboard a flight. The Thomson cabin crew reported Faizah Shaheen who was on her way to her honeymoon in Turkey, last year, when they saw her boarded with the book.
She firmly believes she was singled out because of her race. “I felt upset and distressed, followed by anger. I struggled to accept that I was being singled out for reading a book on art and culture,” she said. The interrogation is said to have lasted for around 30 minutes, where she was asked about the book, her work, and the languages she spoke. Shaheen, a Muslim who works in mental health care, was reading 'Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline' on the outbound flight. Her work in the facility ironically, includes looking for signs of radicalisation in young people. “One year on, Thomson Airways has failed to provide an explanation or apology despite legal involvement. This attitude has left me with no option but to seek a declaration from the court under the Equality Act.”
Shaheen and her husband were stopped by the police when she returned to the UK two weeks later, and were taken to a room at Doncaster Airport for questioning under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. She said she was singled out because of her race. One of her lawyers, Ravi Naik, said that while Thomson had acknowledged its initial communication, it had not responded to its correspondence since January. “The Equality Act contains strong protections against discriminatory treatment on the basis of someone's race and religion and for good reason. We have asked the airline to apologise, to which we have never received a meaningful reply.”
Shaheen clarified that compensation is not what she is after. Instead, she wants “an apology and explanation from Thomson Airways to ensure that it never happens again.” She added, “Thomson should review its staff training procedures so that such an error never happens again. Reading a book should never be viewed as grounds for suspicious behaviour.”
Thomson issued a statement saying, “We're really sorry if Ms Shaheen remains unhappy with how she feels she was treated. We wrote to her to explain that our crew undergo general safety and security awareness training on a regular basis. As part of this, they are encouraged to be vigilant and share any information or questions with the relevant authorities, who would then act as appropriate.”
