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CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The family of a 12-year-old Muslim special-needs student in New York says in a civil rights lawsuit that school officials forced him to sign a false confession saying he was a terrorist.
According to Newsday, the lawsuit says bullies called seventh-grader Nashwan Uppal a terrorist and asked when he was going to blow up their East Islip school.
His family says because of his learning disability, Nashwan mimicked the older students and replied that he would "blow up the school fence."
The lawsuit says school officials screamed at Nashwan and ordered him to confess that he was "part of ISIS," an acronym for the Islamic State group, and "knew how to make bombs." It says his mother was told he was being suspended for criminal activity."
The school district declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
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