He brought the homemade clock to school to impress his teachers but he was quickly arrested.
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Ahmed said Monday that he hopes the lawsuit will help bring justice to minority children and teens who have faced discrimination.
A 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed speaking at a press conference said, “I got a lot of hate”.
The brief names Ahmed’s middle school vice principal, Mr. Nguyen, as a regular purveyor of abuse.
Although the charge against Ahmed was soon dropped after his arrest, he was still served with a 3-day suspension.
The story – including pictures of the incident – quickly gained worldwide attention. A family attorney said in November that Mohamed was interrogated by seven adults for almost 90 minutes and was not allowed to call his parents, a violation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Code. “The letters also threatened lawsuits and sought written apologies”, CBS News said.
The lawsuit is expected to be filed in federal courts later today.
Irving, Texas, Mayor Beth Van Duyne also released a statement onFacebook following the incident, defending the school and Irving Police Department for the arrest.
The school district has denied violating Ahmed’s rights as a student and said that no other details could be provided at the moment since this was an ongoing litigation. “Irving ISD employees are focused on welcoming 35,000 students for the 2016-2017 academic year and doing everything possible to ensure each student is achieving his or her maximum potential”.
“I want to be the voice for them, because it’s very wrong what happens to them”, Ahmed said. The suit alleges the district has a history of racism, citing its “strength of anti-Muslim sentiment” and a “vast ignorance of the Muslim religion”.
Among the claims made in the suit is that the boy’s right to equal protection under the law was violated and that officers arrested him without probable cause.
After being suspended, Ahmed withdrew from the Irving school district and he and his family moved to Qatar, where he attended school before before returning to Irving this summer.
“This is one of those moments where ‘history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man’s unending search for freedom, ‘ ” the suit reads.
The plaintiffs are represented by Fort Worth attorneys Susan Hutchinson and Christopher Stoy.
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Ahmed told the Post that his life in Qatar has been much different than his life in Irving and that he no longer is able to pursue his passion for building. I’d just build things. My dad doesn’t have a job anymore.
