Humiliation at 33,000 feet: Top British architect tells of terror 'arrest'

Seth Stein - a London-based interiors guru, whose clients have included Peter Mandelson and the husband-and-wife design team Suzanne Clements and Ignacio Ribeiro - was sitting minding his own business on a plane travelling back from a business trip to the Turks and Caicos islands via New York on 22 May when a fellow passenger engaged him in a neck lock from behind:

"This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, that I'd been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn't believe it was happening," said Mr Stein.

"He went into my pocket and took out my passport and my iPod. All the other passengers were looking concerned."

"This man could have garrotted me and what was awful was that one or two of the passengers went up afterwards to thank him," said Mr Stein.

And what had Mr Stein done to cause another passenger to assault him in this way?

He has since been told by airline staff he was targeted because he was using an iPod, had used the toilet when he got on the plane and that his tan made him appear "Arab".

Now of the three things that singled him out for this treatment, I imagine most of us could consider doing either of the first two and most probably have done both at some time on a long journey. So one has to presume that his appearance has more to do with this than airline staff are admitting. After all, if we were to engage in this kind of behaviour with everyone who ever used a toilet on a plane or listened to an iPod I would imagine this kind of assault would be almost routine.

The astonishing thing is that airline staff had already told the "policeman" that a security check had already been done on Mr Stein and that he had been cleared.

Mr Stein said: "The other passengers looked and me and said, 'What did you do?' It was so humiliating. The fact is he [the police officer] was told I was OK and should have left me alone. The airline had a duty of care. I've got to travel to the US soon, but I'm paying an extra £500 to travel in business class."

Has it come to this? That "Arab-looking" passengers will have to upgrade in the hope of avoiding this kind of manhandling?

American Airlines apologised to Mr Stein, who was born in New York, but withdrew an initial offer of $2,000 compensation on the grounds it would be an admission of liability. In a letter dated 30 May, the airline said it had done everything possible to try and protect Mr Stein.

It read: "Unfortunately, as in any public gathering, there may be occasions when a conflict arises between people or when one individual's actions bother another... As our crew members may not always be witness to the inappropriate acts of a particular passenger, there may be a limit to what our crews can do to improve behaviour that is perceived as a nuisance."

In a twist to the story, Mr Stein has since discovered that there is only one Michael Wilk on the NYPD's official register of officers, but the man retired 25 years ago. Officials have told the architect that his assailant may work for another law enforcement agency but have refused to say which one.

I love the idea that "there may be a limit to what our crews can do to improve behaviour that is perceived as a nuisance". Someone strangling you from behind can be pesky when you're travelling can't it? But what's an airline to do?

If I were Mr Stein I'd be suing whatever shady law enforcement agency employs that member of staff.

Once again, the colour of your skin effects the way you are treated as you lawfully go about your business. I thought we got over all that decades ago. Apparently not.

And how awful that the other passengers thanked this "policeman" for his actions. How high is the fear factor that we now immediately assume the guilt of anyone who looks Arab? And we now, apparently, thank people who assault Arabs on planes without ever questioning whether or not there was any valid reason for them doing so.

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Tags: Seth, Stein, Arab, assault, arrest, restrain, plane, journey, security, heightened fears,