SAN FRANCISCO — A native of Yemen who is citizen of the United States is suing three government officials -- including the U.S. secretary of state -- after his passport was revoked.
Abdulfatah Abdulla Abozaid filed a suit on Feb. 5 in the U.S. District Court Northern District of California San Francisco Division against Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Acting Assistant Secretary of Consular Affairs Michelle T. Bond and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services Brenda Sprague, citing alleged violations of state and federal law.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff, who has held a U.S. passport since 1999, went to the U.S. Embassy in Sana, Yemen on April 2, 2013 to apply for a passport for his infant son. He alleges he was unlawfully interrogated by Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent David Howell regarding his identity for seven hours straight without any food and his request for an attorney was denied. He further alleges he was forced to sign a sworn affidavit written in English, which he could not read, that claimed his true identity was “Abdulfatah Abdo Abdo Albalaki.”
He says in the suit that his passport and Certificate of Citizenship were confiscated before he was allowed to leave the embassy. Then in December 2013, the U.S. government officially revoked his passport, claiming it had been fraudulently obtained.
The plaintiff seeks reinstatement of his passport, compensation for all damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and cost of the suit and any other relief this court deems just and proper. He is represented by Wahida Noorzad of Saad Ahmad & Associates in Fremont.
U.S. District Court Northern District of California San Francisco Division Case number 4:16-cv-00623-KAW