A Muslim man of Arab descent was awarded $11,000 by the British Colombia Human Rights Tribunal to compensate for his co-workers’ paranoia that he helped organize the 9/11 attacks. Ghassan Asad was questioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after co-workers at a high-tech firm reported that he’d visited New York and Washington a few weeks before the attacks, and his boss claimed he resembled the terrorists known to be involved in the attacks. The police spent three days questioning Asad, but no charges were laid. He is of Saudi Arabian origin but received Canadian citizenship one month before 9/11. The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal concluded that the management engaged in improper conduct that had a serious and substantial impact on Asad. The second part of his claim – that he was unfairly fired in March 2003 – was dismissed by the tribunal.
