PENNSYLVANIA — A US court has upheld a decision to sack an Egyptian-born nuclear physicist for criticising former President Gerorge W. Bush's treatment of American Muslims after the September 11 terrorist attacks. “The appeal by the physicist is turned down. His sacking by the Energy Secretary was implemented according to a previous decree to ban declarations of this kind,” Judge Brooks Smith said. The scientist, Abdel Moniem Ali el- Ganayni, had filed a lawsuit in June saying he was being punished for criticising the Iraq war and the bad treatment of Muslims. The lawsuit, filed by el-Ganayni, was dismissed before he appealed to the Pennsylvania federal court. The Energy Department said it had reliable information that Ganayni was a security risk, but the agency said its reasons for firing him were classified and could violate national security if they were made public. El-Ganayni, 59, worked at the Bettis Laboratory, which makes parts for nuclear warships, in West Mifflin, a Pittsburgh suburb, for more than 17 years. He has been a United States citizen since 1988. His security clearance was revoked in 2008, and he was fired in May. In his lawsuit, Ganayni said he had been questioned by Energy Department officials and FBI agents about speeches he had made, his views on suicide bombings and the Qur'an.
