Man exonerated in Malcom X murder sues New York City for US$ 40 million

US: A man who was exonerated after spending decades in prison in the United States for the 1965 murder of Black civil rights advocate Malcolm X is suing New York City for its role in his wrongful conviction.

Muhammad Aziz’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court on Thursday, demanding at least $40m in damages.

“Mr Aziz, a US Navy veteran who served multiple tours of duty, and the father of six young children, was only 26 years old when he was arrested for the murder of Malcolm X,” the lawsuit reads.

“He spent 20 years, during what should have been the prime of his life, locked in prison for a crime he did not commit. The damage done to Mr Aziz and his family was immense and irreparable.”

Aziz, 84, and his codefendant Khalil Islam, who died in 2009, were exonerated in November 2021, with the judge who vacated their conviction calling it a “serious miscarriages of justice”.

At the time, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr apologised for what he called “serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust”.

Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965, just three months before he turned 40. He is celebrated as one of the most influential leaders to advocate for Black empowerment and civil rights in the US. – ALJAZEERA