CAIRO - The US Justice Department has opened an independent investigation into the killing of an imam during an FBI raid near Detroit last October, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, February 3.
"The civil rights division has received the FBI's report and is now conducting an independent review of the shooting," spokesman Alejandro Miyar told a news conference.
Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a 53-year-old local imam in Dearborn, near Detroit, was shot by FBI on October 28.
An autopsy, done in November but only released Monday, showed the slain imam had received 21 gunshot wounds, including shots to the head, abdomen, scrotum and back.
FBI agents said they opened fire and killed Abdullah after he shot a dog they sent into his home.
But according to the report of the autopsy, when an investigator from the Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the scene Abdullah's body was found on the floor of a semi-trailer full of flat-screen TVs with his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
It also showed that Abdullah had several abrasions on his hands, the reason of which could not be identified.
The findings raised many questions and demands from civil rights advocates and Muslim groups for an independent investigation.
At the time of the raid the FBI report described Abdullah as a "highly placed leader of a radical fundamentalist Sunni group" whose primary mission was to establish an Islamic state within the US.
Yet, the authorities were reportedly trying to arrest Abdullah on charges of conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.
Welcoming
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the Justice Department's announcement.
"We welcome the decision to open a civil rights investigation of the imam's death," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad told a news conference.
CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights group in the US, has announced a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for materials, including surveillance videos, relating to the raid.
It has also requested copies of the autopsy photographs and results of a necropsy of the killed police dog.
The necropsy would be checked to confirm whether the dog was killed by bullets from a non-police weapon as investigators have said.
Awad paid tribute to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. John Conyers who had asked Attorney General Eric Holder to have the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division look into shooting.
"[We] thank Representative Conyers for his leadership in ensuring that all the facts in this troubling case come out."
The family of the slain imam is seeking a second autopsy and any video surveillance the government might have showing the deadly FBI raid.
Lawyer Nabih Ayad said they are concerned about reports of lacerations to Abdullah's hands and wonders if an FBI dog bit him before he allegedly fired back, killing the dog.
"It's really hard and it's really painful for me," said Amina Abdullah, the 36-year-old widow.
"I was shocked. I couldn't eat, and I couldn't sleep."
"The civil rights division has received the FBI's report and is now conducting an independent review of the shooting," spokesman Alejandro Miyar told a news conference.
Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a 53-year-old local imam in Dearborn, near Detroit, was shot by FBI on October 28.
An autopsy, done in November but only released Monday, showed the slain imam had received 21 gunshot wounds, including shots to the head, abdomen, scrotum and back.
FBI agents said they opened fire and killed Abdullah after he shot a dog they sent into his home.
But according to the report of the autopsy, when an investigator from the Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the scene Abdullah's body was found on the floor of a semi-trailer full of flat-screen TVs with his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
It also showed that Abdullah had several abrasions on his hands, the reason of which could not be identified.
The findings raised many questions and demands from civil rights advocates and Muslim groups for an independent investigation.
At the time of the raid the FBI report described Abdullah as a "highly placed leader of a radical fundamentalist Sunni group" whose primary mission was to establish an Islamic state within the US.
Yet, the authorities were reportedly trying to arrest Abdullah on charges of conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.
Welcoming
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the Justice Department's announcement.
"We welcome the decision to open a civil rights investigation of the imam's death," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad told a news conference.
CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights group in the US, has announced a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for materials, including surveillance videos, relating to the raid.
It has also requested copies of the autopsy photographs and results of a necropsy of the killed police dog.
The necropsy would be checked to confirm whether the dog was killed by bullets from a non-police weapon as investigators have said.
Awad paid tribute to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. John Conyers who had asked Attorney General Eric Holder to have the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division look into shooting.
"[We] thank Representative Conyers for his leadership in ensuring that all the facts in this troubling case come out."
The family of the slain imam is seeking a second autopsy and any video surveillance the government might have showing the deadly FBI raid.
Lawyer Nabih Ayad said they are concerned about reports of lacerations to Abdullah's hands and wonders if an FBI dog bit him before he allegedly fired back, killing the dog.
"It's really hard and it's really painful for me," said Amina Abdullah, the 36-year-old widow.
"I was shocked. I couldn't eat, and I couldn't sleep."
