Toulouse cruise passenger released after mistaken detention in Palermo
Fingerprint checks established that the 44-year-old was not the person sought under a European arrest warrant.
Italian authorities detained Amir, a 44-year-old man from Toulouse, after his cruise ship arrived in Palermo while he was traveling with his wife, three children and other relatives.
Officers believed he was a French-Tunisian suspect wanted under a European arrest warrant for alleged drug trafficking. According to the account, Amir presented identification and said authorities had the wrong person, but he was handcuffed, taken to a police station and searched while officials investigated his identity. Reports cited in the account said he remained in custody for about seven hours.
The confusion reportedly arose because Amir shared the wanted person’s first name, last name and date of birth. His lawyer maintains that other identifying information should have prevented the detention.
Authorities ultimately used fingerprint checks to confirm Amir was not the wanted individual and released him to return to the ship. After returning to France, he received medical treatment for health problems reportedly associated with stress from the incident.
Amir is now pursuing legal action. His lawyer has characterized the incident as degrading treatment and a serious failure in identity verification.