The FBI and Coerced Confessions...

Wait a Second!, a blog about civil rights opinions from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, has posted a story about a Federal ruling about an Egyptian guy who confessed to playing a role in the 9/11 attacks. The problem? The guy had been coerced into a false confession by an FBI agent after being told that his family would be punished, in Egypt.

Egpytian national, Abdallah Higazy, was staying in a hotel in New York City on September 11 and the hotel emptied out when the planes hit the towers. The hotel later found in the closet of his room a device that allows you to communicate with airline pilots. Investigators thought this guy had something to do with 9/11 so they questioned him. According to Higazi, the investigators coerced him into confessing to a role in 9/11. Higazi first adamantly denied any involvement with 9/11 and could not believe what was happening to him. Then, he says, the investigator said his family would go through hell in Egypt, where they torture people like Saddam Hussein. Higazy then realized he had a choice: he could continue denying the radio was his and his family suffers ungodly torture in Egypt or he confesses and his family is spared. Of course, by confessing, Higazy's life is worth garbage at that point, but ... well, that's why coerced confessions are outlawed in the United States.

Meanwhile, an airline pilot later shows up at the hotel and asks for his radio back.