(New York) One of the men recently cleared of the 1965 murder of Malcolm X is claiming tens of millions of dollars from New York State and the city itself, to repair his damage, announced Tuesday his lawyers.
Muhammad Aziz, 83, who has always proclaimed his innocence during his 20 years in prison, had to wait until November 18 for the New York State Supreme Court to officially exonerate him of the assassination of this controversial icon of the African-American cause. Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance then offered him his “apologies” for “decades of injustice”.
This historic court decision also concerned one of the other two convicted in 1966, Khalil Islam, who died in 2009.
However, “for decades, including immediately after the assassination of Malcolm X, the New York Police (NYPD) and the FBI were in possession of evidence which not only proved the innocence of Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam, but also identified the real murderers of Malcolm X ”, assure in a statement their lawyers David Shanies and Deborah François.
They recall in particular that in 1977, the third convict, who admitted to having shot Malcolm X on February 21, 1965 in a Harlem room, had revealed the identity of his accomplices, once again exonerating Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam.
In a first civil summons filed in a New York State court, Mr. Aziz argues that as a result of this “unfair” conviction, he spent “20 years in several high security prisons in the State” of New York, from whom he is claiming damages for “not less than $ 20 million”.
In separate proceedings, he formally warns New York City, on which the NYPD depends, of his intention to claim $ 40 million in particular for “illegal detention” and “serious emotional, psychological and physical damage”, if no agreement is reached. ‘is found.
“Those who deprived me of my freedom and deprived my family of a husband, a father and a grandfather must be held responsible,” said Muhammad Aziz in the press release from his lawyers.
The latter specify that they are preparing similar actions for the heirs of Khalil Islam.