Safarini v. Ashcroft


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ZAID HASSAN ABD LATIF SAFARINI, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 17-430 (RDM) JOHN ASHCROFT, Former Attorney General, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Appearing pro se, Plaintiff Zaid Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Safarini (“Safarini”) filed this suit in March 2017 against various former U.S. and foreign officials, the Kingdoms of Thailand and Jordan, the Thai National Police, and Thai Airlines International. He alleges that he was unlawfully kidnapped in Bangkok, Thailand in 2001 by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), acting with the assistance of the remaining defendants, and rendered to the United States for trial. Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(iii), the Court previously dismissed Safarini’s claims against the Kingdoms of Thailand and Jordan, the Thai National Police, Dkt. 12, “Thai Airlines International,” Ahmed Al- Hajayh, and various “unknown immigration officials of the Kingdom of Thailand, Dkt. 14. As a result, the sole remaining defendants are former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Director of the FBI Robert Mueller, and three current or former FBI agents. Having reviewed the complaint and the relevant law, the Court now sua sponte dismisses Safarini’s claims against those officials. And, having now addressed all of Safarini’s claims, the Court will dismiss the action. I. BACKGROUND The events giving rise to Plaintiff’s claim begin on September 5, 1986, when Safarini, along with four other armed men, hijacked a Pan Am flight on the tarmac in Karachi, Pakistan. See United States’ Omnibus Opposition at 1–2, United States v. Zaid Hassan ABD Al-Latiff Masud Al Safarini, No. 91-cr-504-03 (D.D.C. Sept. 12, 2017). Twenty people—including two American citizens—were killed, and over one hundred people were injured. Id. at 2. Safarini was tried and convicted in Pakistan in 1987. Id. After fifteen years in prison in Pakistan, Safarini was released on September 27, 2001. Id. Safarini alleges in his complaint that, upon his release, a Jordanian official named Ahmed Al-Hajayh met Safarini and informed him that Al-Hajayh had made arrangements to transport Safarini home to Jordan. Dkt. 1 at 4 (Compl. ¶ 15). The arranged flight included a scheduled stopover in Bangkok, Thailand, where Safarini says he deplaned to change flights. Id. While waiting for the next flight that would take him to Jordan, three FBI special agents, whom Safarini identifies as “Special Agent Brad,” “Special Agent Nada Ali,” and an “Unknown Special Agent,” allegedly handcuffed Safarini and put him on a flight bound for the United States. Id. After his arrest, Safarini was tried in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for multiple crimes, including murder, attempted murder, attempted air-piracy, hostage-taking, and conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States. See United States’ Omnibus Opposition at 2–3, United States v. Zaid Hassan ABD Al-Latiff Masud Al Safarini, No. 91-cr-504-03 (D.D.C. Sept. 12, 2017). Safarini pleaded guilty to ninety-five charges and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus twenty-five years. Id. at 3–4. After sentencing, Safarini was transported to ...

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