A woman from Leeds was detained by police at Doncaster airport after being spotted reading a book on Syrian culture during her honeymoon flight.
Faizah Shaheen, 27, a Muslim who works for the NHS includes trying to prevent teenagers with mental health issues from possibly being radicalised, said she was stopped and questioned on the 25th July in a manner that was “hurtful and unpleasant”.
A report on the BBC website said how Shaheen said she that while she was “checked quite a lot because of who I am, my identity, my faith” she had felt “victimised” as a result of the incident and would be lodging a complaint with the airline.
“I’m aware that security is very important where terrorism is concerned but they need to keep a sense of proportion,” she said.
“To go off and contact the anti-terror police is quite an extreme overreaction.”
Shaheen, whose work in the NHS includes efforts to stop radicalisation among young mental health patients, told the Independent she intends to make formal complaints against the police.
A Thomson Airways spokesman said: “Our crew undergo general safety and security awareness training on a regular basis. As part of this they are encouraged to be vigilant and share any information or questions with the relevant authorities.
“We appreciate that in this instance Ms Shaheen may have felt that overcaution had been exercised. However, like all airlines, our crew are trained to report any concerns they may have as a precaution.”
