Muslim nuclear scientist sues over lost security clearance
Muslim sues over loss of security clearance
Friday, June 27, 2008
By Sally Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Andy Starnes/Post-Gazette
Moniem A. El-Ganayni, front, with Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania
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Charging violation of his constitutional rights to free speech and religion, equal protection and due process, nuclear scientist and prison imam Moniem El-Ganayni filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the Department of Energy and its acting deputy secretary, Jeffrey F. Kupfer.
The action stems from the loss of Dr. El-Ganayni's security clearance, and hence his job, at Bettis Laboratory in West Mifflin, based on unspecified grounds of "national security." It does not seek to overturn the revocation, but rather the right to see the alleged evidence against him -- he doubts any exists -- and the chance to contest the decision "before a nonpolitical, neutral arbiter, as mandated by DOE regulations."
"The government has offered no factual details in this case. All they've done is to parrot boilerplate language from the DOE," said Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is representing Dr. El-Ganayni along with lawyers from the Downtown offices of Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis.
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