Gulet Mohamed (born 1991) is a naturalized

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

who was detained in Kuwait and placed on the no-fly list maintained by the

Terrorist Screening Center The Threat Screening Center (formerly Terrorist Screening Center) or the TSC, is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is the duty of the TSC to identify suspected or potential terrorists. Though ...

. Mohamed was born in Somalia and immigrated in 1995. He was raised in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, by his immigrant parents. In March 2009, Mohamed travelled to

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

where he stayed for three weeks and then to

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

to stay with relatives. He stated that the purpose of his trip was to meet his extended family and to study Islam and Arabic. In August 2009, he went to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

to live with his uncle. On December 20, 2010, Mohamed went to the Kuwait Airport to renew his visa, and was detained by two men who placed him in a car and blindfolded him. He was placed in a jail cell and interrogated about whether he knew

Anwar al-Aulaqi Anwar Nasser Abdulla al-Awlaki (; April 21 or 22, 1971September 30, 2011) was an American-Yemeni lecturer assassinated in Yemen in 2011 by a U.S. government drone strike ordered by President Barack Obama. Al-Awlaki was the first U.S. citizen to ...

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

. His interrogators insisted that Mohamed knew al-Aulaqi from the time that the cleric had preached in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...

in 2001, when he was 10 years old. The interrogators demanded his e-mail and Facebook passwords and took his

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

. He claims that he was severely beaten and deprived of sleep. After a week, on December 28, Mohamed was taken to a Kuwait deportation facility where he was visited by three

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agents, who said that his travels "raised red flags." Mohamed claimed that the FBI agents requested that he become an informant for the Bureau, but he declined. On December 28, Mohamed used another detainee's contraband cell phone to call his family, who in turn contacted the

Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

(CAIR). Mohamed's family sent his older brother to Kuwait to arrange for his release. On January 16, 2011, the Kuwait government advised Mohamed's family to purchase a plane ticket back to Washington and drove him to the airport in an effort to deport him. When he arrived at the airport, he was not allowed to board his flight because he was on the no-fly list. On January 18, 2011, Mohamed's attorney, provided by the CAIR, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia seeking his return to the United States. The federal government agreed to arrange for his return when the Judge was poised to order it. Mohamed was allowed to leave Kuwait on January 20, 2011 and arrived at

Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...

on January 21. Mohamed claims that he was detained and interrogated at Dulles for two hours without his lawyer present despite his request for counsel.

References

External links

Complaint in Mohamed v. Holder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohamed, Gulet People from Alexandria, Virginia 1991 births Living people