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The siblings said they were met by armed police officers on the ground, who asked them if they speak English.
Sakina told them they only spoke English having been born and raised in London.
She was then informed another passenger reported seeing them with Arabic text or "praise be to Allah” on their phones and had accused them of being IS supporters.
“If me and my sister weren’t wearing headscarves none of this would’ve happened, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now,” Maryam said in an interview with Channel 4 News.
“It’s a formidable sight seeing armed policemen waiting for you at the bottom.
“Apparently the pair of us two had been reading ISIS material.”
She says they were in fact reading a Whatsapp conversation.
“I showed the time stamps on my phone. Me and my dad were talking about which left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn most resembled from the past.
“So unless being left wing is a crime, that is literally the only offence I could have committed that morning.”
Maryam said no apology was given.
“We were humiliated. We were embarrassed. We were treated like criminals. Dragged off a flight in front of everyone,” she said.
“The fact that this can happen to us is really worrying, it really is”.
Ali said he wasn’t questioned as much as his sisters.
“Maybe I don’t fit the sort of profile they were looking for because I don’t look typically Muslim,” he said.
“Because my sisters wear scarves, it’s easy for them to be profiled like that.”
The family isn’t even Arabic. Their ethnic origin is Indian.
In statement, Essex Police said they were contacted with reports of concern regarding the behaviour of three people who were looking at their mobile phones .
“(Officers) were quickly able to establish that no offences had been committed and the women boarded their flight. We are satisfied the call was of good intent.”
EasyJet also released a statement in which it defended its actions.
“The safety and security of its passengers and crew is our highest priority which means that if a security concern is raised we will always investigate it as a precautionary measure. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passengers”.
Maryam
(left) and Sakina with brother Ali Dharas say they feel “humiliated”
after being dragged off a flight accused of being Islamic State group
supporters. Picture: Channel 4 News.
A
BRITISH airline has been accused of racial profiling after kicking
three Muslim siblings off a flight from London to Italy under suspicion
of terrorism.
Maryam, Sakina and Ali Dharas were on
their way to Naples for a holiday on August 18 on board an EasyJet
flight from Stansted Airport when they were approached by a member of
the cabin crew.The siblings said they were met by armed police officers on the ground, who asked them if they speak English.
Sakina told them they only spoke English having been born and raised in London.
She was then informed another passenger reported seeing them with Arabic text or "praise be to Allah” on their phones and had accused them of being IS supporters.
“If me and my sister weren’t wearing headscarves none of this would’ve happened, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now,” Maryam said in an interview with Channel 4 News.
“It’s a formidable sight seeing armed policemen waiting for you at the bottom.
“Apparently the pair of us two had been reading ISIS material.”
She says they were in fact reading a Whatsapp conversation.
“I showed the time stamps on my phone. Me and my dad were talking about which left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn most resembled from the past.
“So unless being left wing is a crime, that is literally the only offence I could have committed that morning.”
Maryam said no apology was given.
“We were humiliated. We were embarrassed. We were treated like criminals. Dragged off a flight in front of everyone,” she said.
“The fact that this can happen to us is really worrying, it really is”.
Ali said he wasn’t questioned as much as his sisters.
EasyJet has released a statement saying it acted on the passenger’s fear as a “precautionary measure”.Source:AFP
“Because my sisters wear scarves, it’s easy for them to be profiled like that.”
The family isn’t even Arabic. Their ethnic origin is Indian.
In statement, Essex Police said they were contacted with reports of concern regarding the behaviour of three people who were looking at their mobile phones .
“(Officers) were quickly able to establish that no offences had been committed and the women boarded their flight. We are satisfied the call was of good intent.”
EasyJet also released a statement in which it defended its actions.
“The safety and security of its passengers and crew is our highest priority which means that if a security concern is raised we will always investigate it as a precautionary measure. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passengers”.
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