KARACHI, May 14 The Muscat-bound passenger detained at the airport on Sunday night and later given a security clearance by a joint interrogation team for wearing 'therapy shoes' is preparing to sue the Airport Security Force for damages, his family members told Dawn on Friday.

Faiz Mohammad was detained by the ASF for wearing shoes fitted with electric circuit and batteries and was presented before the media as a potential “terrorist”.

The 30-year-old bearded passenger was booked on a Thai Airways flight (TG-507) on May 9. He remained in custody for almost three days, though no FIR was registered against him.

“Following his detention, Faiz was confident and explained to ASF officials that he had purchased the shoes from the market where they are readily available, but what left him shaken was that he was led away in handcuffs and presented before the electronic media [as a potential terrorist],” recalled Niaz Mohammad, who was present outside the airport at that time but was unable to do anything for his younger brother.

It was through television channels that the family learnt about what Faiz was going through at the airport.

They [the electronic media] were so quick to air the footage of Faiz that they did not even verify the facts, said Niaz, adding that the harrowing episode left his family traumatised and nearly jeopardised his brother's career.

After thorough grilling, it turned out that Faiz was wearing the “Good Vibrations” shoes, described on a website as “designed to massage away the aches and a pain throughout the day rather than after the damage is done”.

The Muscat police started their own investigations and visited the place of his residence and questioned Faiz's friends. They finally cleared him of suspicion, said Niaz.

Faiz, who was earlier working for a construction company, had a company visa which ended with his job there. He managed to set up a business there in partnership with some investors, who recently sent him a visa. However, they became scared when they learned about his ordeal. “They were about to cancel the visa some three days back, but we have persuaded them not to do so as things have been sorted out,” explained Niaz.

“Even when Faiz was being taken to the police station, we were told that he would be released soon, as there was no FIR or other incriminating evidence against him,” his elder brother said. But with so much media hype whipped up, it seemed that Faiz had already been convicted even without an FIR, his brother complained.

Niaz said his brother's passport and ticket were seized by the police but he was likely to get the travel documents back in a day or two. He added that though there was generally a three-day deadline to claim a ticket refund, Thai Airways had been kind enough to fully refund the ticket without making any deduction keeping in view of the ordeal Faiz went through.

Niaz said that intelligence sleuths were still buying therapy shoes from the market to show to their superiors that such shoes were available at Teen Talwar, Nagan Chowrangi and other markets of the city.

Former president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Mazhar Abbas said that on the whole media's role in the entire episode left a lot to be desired.

“We go by the official version and don't even use words like 'alleged'. We (the media) must be very careful when an allegation is being levelled against someone,” said Mr Abbas.

He said that the electronic media totally ignored these guidelines and did not even express regret if someone had been cleared by court or law-enforcers through an inquiry.

“Throughout his ordeal, Faiz remained quite confident but we were devastated. We spent sleepless nights since Sunday when it all began,” his family members said.

They said that though it was finally over the kind of damage they and Faiz Mohammad suffered was indescribable.

Niaz said they had not been issued any document following the interrogation by the JIT stating that Faiz was innocent all along, but “we expect that court will in some way address our grievances”.

Faiz is unmarried and has an elder brother and a sister. “He has a diploma in civil engineering. We are self-made people and are proud of the fact that our father used to be a construction worker,” his elder brother said.

The ASF spokesman was unavailable for comment.