The siblings were grilled on the tarmac after a passenger voiced fear
(Left to right) Maryam, Ali and Sakina Darhas
London: Three Indian-origin Muslim siblings, including two hijab-clad girls, have claimed that they were forced off an EasyJet plane and questioned on the tarmac by British policemen after a passenger accused them of being ISIS supporters.
(Left to right) Maryam, Ali and Sakina Darhas
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Sakina (24), Maryam (19), and Ali Dharas (21), had boarded the flight from Stansted to Naples last week when they were asked to accompany a crewmember, reports said. The trio from northwest London were grilled for an hour. They were first asked, “Do you speak English?”, according to Sakina, who narrated the ordeal in a Facebook post and an Independent article.
“A passenger has claimed that you three are members of ISIS. They saw you with Arabic or praise be to Allah on your phone,” the officer then said. In their reply, the siblings said, “Firstly, that’s part of the Quran, so even if we did have it, it wouldn’t signify that we’re a part of ISIS at all.”
“Regardless, we’ve had nothing on our phone Arabic related. Also, we’re Indian by ethnicity, so we wouldn’t have Arabic in conversation with anyone,” they told the officers.
During their interrogation, Sakina said she was asked to explain the various entry stamps on her passport. She also showed a MI5 agent recent WhatsApp messages.
“The officers apologised for the ‘inconvenience’ and assure(d) us that, at a time where we are all ‘on edge’, they have to respond to threats. So why weren’t those passengers who made the false claim removed from the plane for wasting valuable police time?” Sakina asked.
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