A Somali man accused of leading mass executions and torturing people during the country’s bloody civil war in the 1980s has been quietly working as a security guard at a Washington, D.C., airport for the past six years – all while passing FBI and TSA background checks.
(FOX)- Yusuf Abdi Ali, who has lived in Alexandria, Va., for decades, is an employee at the Dulles International Airport, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authorityconfirmed to Fox 5 on Wednesday.
The airport authority also said they are aware that Ali – who is now on administrative leave — was named in a lawsuit filed by a human rights group in 2006 for crimes against humanity. The case has had numerous appeals and is now destined for the Supreme Court, CNN reported.
“The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority maintains a contract with Master Security to provide unarmed security services,” said Rob Yingling, a spokesperson. “Master Security’s employees are subject to the full, federally mandated vetting process in order to be approved for an airport badge, including a criminal history records check by the FBI and a security threat assessment by the TSA.”
Yingling said the authority has “verified that all of these processes were followed and approved in this instance.
“We have been informed by Master Security, which hired Mr. Ali, that he has been placed on administrative leave, and as a result his access to the airport has been withdrawn,” he added.
The company also said it was unaware of the pending litigation and is now reviewing the facts surrounding the case.