Student stopped at airport over Arabic flashcards wins USD25K

Philadelphia, Jan 23: A university student detained at an airport over Arabic language flashcards that included the word "bomb" has won a USD 25,000 settlement from the federal government.

The settlement on Friday over the 2009 stop of Nicholas George at Philadelphia International Airport also includes more police training. The Justice Department is funding the settlement, though a US court cleared federal agents of liability over their 30-minute questioning of George. George says city police separately detained him for more than four hours, sometimes handcuffed.

A lawyer for the city says the stop was justified. George was flying back to Pomona College from his Philadelphia-area home and had the flashcards in his pocket to study. He is now a 27-year-old Google programmer in California. Neither city nor federal officials acknowledge wrongdoing in the settlement.

AP