Sri Lanka police apologize female US Muslim activist for wrongly identifying her as suspect in terror attacks

Friday April 26, 2019

A US woman has shared her shock after Sri Lankan police wrongly identified her as a suspect in the Easter Sunday terror attacks.

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Amara Majeed, a Muslim activist and author from Baltimore, had her face plastered on a flyer with the names and photos of six people wanted in connection with the attacks that killed more than 250.

One of the female suspects listed is Abdul Cader Fathima Khadhiya, but the photo that accompanies her name shows Ms Majeed.

Sri Lankan authorities have now issued a statement apologizing for the blunder.
Ms Majeed is an American Muslim who previously hit the headlines in 2013 at the age of 16 when she founded The Hijab Project.

Her mission was to encourage both Muslim and non-Muslim women to wear the hijab and share their experiences on social media.
Her parents are Sri Lankan immigrants and she once wrote an open letter to Donald Trump in 2015 about his rhetoric on Muslims.

Taking to Twitter, Ms Majeed said: 'Hello everyone! I have this morning been FALSELY identified by the Sri Lankan government as one of the ISIS Easter attackers in Sri Lanka.

'What a thing to wake up to! This is obviously completely false and frankly, considering that Muslim communities are already greatly afflicted with issues of surveillance, I don't need more false accusations and scrutiny.

'Please stop implicating and associating me with these horrific attacks. And next time, be more diligent about releasing such information that has the potential to deeply violate someone's family and community.'

In response, Sri Lankan police on Thursday issued a statement confirming that the photo published alongside the name, Abdul Cader Fathima Khadhiya, was not in fact of the suspect.
'The individual pictured is not wanted for questioning,' the statement signed by police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.

However, the actual Abdul Cader Fathima Khadhiya is still wanted for questioning.

The blunder comes as the death toll following the terror attacks dropped by 100.

Sri Lanka's health chief admitted 'there are so many body parts it is difficult to give a precise figure.'
An original figure of 359 had been given following the Easter Day attack, but now Anil Jasinghe, the director general of Sri Lanka's health services, has revealed that number is incorrect.

He said: 'It could be 250 or 260. I can't exactly say. There are so many body parts and it is difficult to give a precise figure.'

He was not the only top government official to revise the death toll, with Ruwan Wijewardene, Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister, also confirming a revised death toll.

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