-urges preservation of CCTV footage
Zaid Khan, an American citizen with a disability who alleged that he was subjected to humiliating treatment during a security screening at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri last week says he has escalated his complaint to the highest levels of the United States government.
Khan, an amputee who previously accused airport personnel of asking him to remove his pants and prosthetic leg during a June 17 screening at CJIA, said he has now filed complaints with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, sought congressional assistance from New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative George Latimer, and contacted several U.S.-based disability rights organisations.
He said the requests include calls for the immediate preservation of surveillance footage, security logs and incident records from the airport, which he said could be automatically overwritten within 30 to 90 days. “The CCTV footage from the security checkpoint and private screening room is the only objective evidence that can resolve the conflicting accounts,” Khan told Kiskadee Watch on June 22.
The latest developments come days after CJIA Chairman and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament Sanjeev Datadin publicly disputed Khan’s account and maintained that no passenger was required to remove a prosthetic device.
Khan said he filed formal complaints with the CJIA and the Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), but up to Monday had received no substantive responses. He further disclosed that the American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown responded to his complaint on June 22, directing him to the airport’s Customer Relations Unit. Khan said he viewed that response as inadequate and subsequently submitted a formal escalation letter to the Embassy invoking Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
He has also contacted the U.S. Consulates in New York and Washington, D.C., the Guyana Consulate in New York, the Guyana Embassy in Washington, and several disability rights organisations, including Disability Rights Advocates and the Disability Rights Law Centre.
He said Advisor Fazal “Joe” Yussuff of the Guyana Consulate in New York confirmed receipt of his complaint and informed him that it had been forwarded to the relevant ministry in Guyana.
Khan also said he approached multiple law firms in Guyana seeking legal representation but was unsuccessful, claiming that each declined due to existing retainer relationships with government-connected clients.
Meanwhile, Khan accused CJIA of communicating publicly through media statements and social media rather than directly with him. He said Public Relations Officer Shunza Samuels initially acknowledged his concerns on Facebook and indicated that a thorough investigation would be conducted, but he has since received no direct response to his emails.
Khan also took issue with comments made publicly by Datadin regarding documentation for prosthetic devices, arguing that no international aviation standard requires amputees to produce certificates for prosthetics.
Citing guidelines from the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Khan contended that Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) swabbing and other screening methods are internationally recognised alternatives to requiring the removal of prosthetic limbs.
Further, he is seeking the preservation of all evidence related to the June 17 incident, a direct written response from CJIA, an independent investigation, accountability for any breaches of disability screening procedures, and mandatory disability awareness training for airport security personnel.
“I came to Guyana as a businessman and as a son, to visit my parents’ homeland with them. I left that airport shaking, scared, and alone in a room with no phone, no lawyer, and no way to reach my Embassy. Five days later, I have filed complaints with more agencies and offices than I can count, and I have not received a single substantive response from the institution responsible,” Khan expressed.
“What I have received is a press statement, a Facebook argument from their Chairman, and a formal letter from my own Embassy directing me back to the people who wronged me. I am an American citizen. I am a taxpayer. I am a disabled amputee. And I refuse to be silent. My goal is not revenge. My goal is accountability. My goal is transparency. My goal is to ensure that no disabled traveller, no amputee, no veteran, no wheelchair user, no person who simply lives differently from the majority, ever has to experience what I experienced at that airport,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Datadin had told Kiskadee Watch that there were standard protocols that had to be followed and obeyed, and he denied that Khan was treated unfairly and outside of acceptable protocol.
He shared that before going into the scanner, Khan did not indicate that he had a prosthetic leg. “He did not show us any form of certificate or document. Usually, if you’re an amputee and you had something fixed, you would have something to show from the institution. We didn’t see any of that,” he said.
According to him, everyone is given the option of allowing officials to examine the prosthetic limb and Khan had initially indicated that he did not mind the examination, but removing the prosthetic would have required him to take off his trousers, which he said he did not want to do. He noted that airport staff accepted his decision and did not instruct him to remove the limb.
Datadin further explained that Khan was provided with two options, that of a quicker process, which involves scanning the prosthetic limb itself and therefore requires its removal, or a longer process involving additional tests, such as touch and chemical swabbing. Khan, according to him, initially considered the first option but ultimately decided against it and instead underwent the second option, which took more time.
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