I find it rather unusual that Qatar would defend the behavior of this diplomat.
Qatari embassy defends diplomat who caused security scare on D.C. flight
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 8, 2010; 11:40 AM
A United Airlines flight from Washington to Denver was disrupted Wednesday night after federal air marshals confronted a Qatari diplomat, who was believed to have been smoking in the plane's bathroom in violation of safety rules, authorities said.
The passenger, Mohammed al-Madadi, was taken into custody by air marshals as he exited the lavatory aboard United Flight 663, officials said. A federal law enforcement official said that Madadi was initially alleged to have extinguished the smoking material on his shoe and made a sarcastic remark to the marshals after he was confronted.
Madadi was asked what he was doing, and at least one marshal apparently thought that Madadi responded with words to the effect of "lighting a bomb in my shoe," one U.S. official said, although other officials cautioned that what actually was spoken remains unclear. No explosives were found on the plane, nor were any traces of explosives found on Madadi's shoes, a senior U.S. official said.
Madadi, who is listed by the State Department as a third secretary at the Embassy of Qatar on M Street NW, invoked diplomatic immunity, officials said.
State Department and White House officials were in talks with Qatari officials Thursday. U.S. authorities indicated Thursday that criminal charges were unlikely, given Madadi's diplomatic status. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
The Qatari ambassador, Ali bin Fahad al-Hajri defended Madadi, saying in a statement on the embassy's Web site that the incident resulted from a misunderstanding.
"This diplomat was traveling to Denver on official embassy business on my instructions, and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity," Hajri said. "The facts will reveal that this was a mistake, and we urge all concerned parties to avoid reckless judgments or speculation."
After several hours in custody, Madadi was released and is returning to Washington, a spokeswoman for the Qatar embassy said Thursday morning.
"We are on a fact-finding mission, trying to pull all the pieces together, and we'll make a statement fairly shortly," Allison Bradley said.
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