Philadelphia

Philly Student Stopped at Airport Over Arabic Flashcards Wins $25K

A college student detained at Philadelphia International Airport over Arabic language flashcards that included the word "bomb" has won a $25,000 settlement from the federal government.

The settlement came Friday over the 2009 stop of Nicholas George at the airport also calls for more police training.

The Justice Department is funding the settlement, though a U.S. court cleared federal agents of liability over their 30-minute questioning of George.

George said Philadelphia police separately detained him for more than four hours, sometimes handcuffed. A lawyer for the city said the stop was justified.

George was flying back to Pomona College from his Philadelphia-area home and had the flashcards in his pocket to study.

He is now a 27-year-old Google programmer in California.

Neither city nor federal officials acknowledge wrongdoing in the settlement.

Copyright The Associated Press
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