By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
A 20-year-old Egyptian-American college student in California filed a lawsuit against the FBI on Wednesday, saying the agency violated his civil rights when it secretly placed a GPS tracking device on his car, the Associated Press reported.
Yasir Afifi, a student at Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif., who insists the FBI has no reason to show interest in him, discovered the tracking device last October after a mechanic doing an oil change pointed it out, AP reported. The suit was filed by Council on American-Islamic Relations, claims the FBI violated his civil rights by putting the device on his car without a warrant.
AP reported that Afifi travels frequently to the Middle East and helps support his two brothers. His late father, awell-known Islamic-American community leader, died last year in Egypt.
FBI spokesman Michael Kortan declined to talk specifics, but told the AP: “The FBI conducts investigations under well-established Department of Justice and FBI guidelines that determine what investigative steps or techniques are appropriate. Those guidelines also ensure the protection of civil and constitutional rights.”
