Oklahoma Man On 'No Fly' List Hits Another Snag

The frustrating plight of an Oklahoma native who now lives in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar has taken a disappointing turn.

Wednesday, February 6th 2013, 10:08 pm

By: News 9


The frustrating plight of an Oklahoma native who now lives in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar has taken a disappointing turn. 

Saadiq Long is a teacher in Qatar, whose mother has a terminal heart condition. She and Saadiq's father live in McAlester, Oklahoma. 

News 9 first told you about Long last fall, because the U.S. government wouldn't give him permission to fly home to see his mother. After six months of legal wrangling, Long was allowed to fly home last November. 

11/5/2012 Related Story: Oklahoma Man On ‘No Fly' List Fighting To Come Home

On Wednesday, members of the TSA and Airport Police would not allow Long to board a flight back to Qatar. He says they told him he is still on our government's "No Fly" list. 

Long says he can't believe it. He says he's never been in trouble, and he spent more than 10 years in the U.S. Air Force.

"[I spent] 10 and a half years as a field supervisor [in the Air Force], and I serviced all kinds of aircraft. Now they won't let me board a passenger plane," He said.  

Oklahoma's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is working to clear up what is a legal mess. 

"We had hoped that cleared things  up when he was allowed to fly here, and now we're confused because he's not trying to get into the country, he's trying to leave and get back to Qatar, where his wife and child are, and he can get back to work," a spokesman for that organization said.

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