Ahmed’s family seeks $15m, apologies from Texas City

DOHA: That’s what an attorney says the family of Ahmed Mohamed is demanding from city and school officials in Irving, Texas, or they say they’ll file a civil suit.
In September, 14-year-old Ahmed made international headlines when he brought a handmade clock to school to show his teachers.
One of them thought it was a bomb and notified school authorities, who then called police. Ahmed was detained, questioned and hauled off in handcuffs. At the time, the school said it reacted with caution because the contraption that had wires could have been an explosive device.
It wasn’t. It was just a clock. In a whirlwind of publicity about the case fueled by social media, ‘I StandWithAhmed’ became a trending topic on Twitter, President Barack Obama invited the teen to attend an event at the White House and a foundation offered him a scholarship to study in Qatar.
But despite the surge of support for Ahmed, the attorney representing his family says the teen suffered severe psychological trauma and that his “reputation in the global community is permanently scarred.”
In two letters sent Monday to attorneys representing the school district and the city, attorney Kelly Hollingsworth says that Ahmed’s civil rights were violated by the way the case was handled.
Irving city officials told CNN they were reviewing the letter and had no comment.
School district spokeswoman Lesley Weaver told CNN that the district is aware of the letter and also had no comment.