Convicted al Qaeda supporter, U.S. face off in medical malpractice trial
Source: Reuters
World | Fri Feb 5, 2016 10:21pm EST
Convicted al Qaeda supporter, U.S. face off in medical malpractice trial
NEW YORK
A New York man serving a 15-year prison sentence for providing support to al Qaeda is urging a federal judge to award him $7 million because of a medical condition he says went untreated while in U.S. custody.
Lawyers for Wesam El-Hanafi, 40, and the U.S. government made their closing arguments on Friday in a week-long medical malpractice trial over whether the prison system failed to timely diagnose and treat a blood clot in a deep vein in his calf.
El-Hanafi, a Brooklyn-born man who U.S. prosecutors say facilitated surveillance of the New York Stock Exchange, contends his symptoms began shortly after his arrest in Dubai in 2010.
In a lawsuit filed in 2013, El-Hanafi said after his arrest, police in Abu Dhabi shackled his feet during his detention, and that on a 16-hour flight to Washington his leg use was discouraged.
His lawyer, Jake Harper, said after departing the airplane, El-Hanafi began experiencing pain in his right calf, initial symptoms of a blood clot condition called deep vein thrombosis.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-elhanafi-idUSKCN0VE2OR