Suspected war criminal working as security guard at US airport
A suspected war criminal has been discovered quietly living in the US and working as a security guard at Washington’s Dulles Airport.
Somali national Yusuf Abdi Ali was tracked down in an investigation by CNN after a human rights group filed a lawsuit years ago against him for ‘crimes against humanity’.
He has been placed on administrative leave.
Ali works for contractor Master Security which says all workers pass a ‘full, federally mandated vetting process’ before reporting for duty.
Its chief executive Rick Cucina said Ali had been suspended for the ‘very serious nature of the allegations’, CNN reports.
He is accused by the Center for Justice and Accountability of ‘overseeing some of the most incredible violence that you can imagine’ and ‘tortured people personally’.
"He arrested people, stole their stuff, burned villages, executed masses of people. At one point he had a school come out to view an execution," said attorney Kathy Roberts.
Roberts claims there are about 1,000 suspected war criminals living in plain sight in the US.
Ali’s alleged offenses took place back in the 1980s during Somalia’s civil war and CNN reports he has lived in the US for about 20 years.
It says both the US Military and officials from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement were aware he was living in the US and of the allegations against him.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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