The family of a Marine recruit who jumped to his death after being slapped by a Parris Island drill instructor is suing the U.S. government for $100 million, The Detroit News reported.
Raheel Siddiqui died on March 18, 2016. Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix, the drill instructor who is accused of slapping him, faces a court-martial, and Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon, who led 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, also faces a court-martial. Felix is also charged with ordering another Muslim recruit to sit in a commercial dryer and turning it on several times while insulting the recruit’s religion.
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Siddiqui’s death was ruled a suicide, but his parents claim in the lawsuit that the U.S. government “failed to consider the possibility that Raheel Siddiqui was fatally injured by one of its own employees, despite investigatory evidence of maltreatment, abuse and hazing,” the family’s attorney wrote in the lawsuit, according to The Detroit News. The lawsuit argues that the government was negligent by declaring Siddiqui’s death a suicide without looking at all of the facts.
Shiraz Khan, who represents Siddiqui’s parents, could not be reached by phone or email. In August, Khan told Marine Corps Times that Siddiqui’s family feels Felix should have been charged with assault.
“Since the Marine Corps investigation itself found that the actions of the accused were likely the impetus for Siddiqui’s death, the key question here is, how is it fair and just for those same actions to be excluded in these proceedings?” Khan said at the time.
Representatives from the Marine Corps and Navy Department declined to comment about the lawsuit. “It’s our policy not to comment on ongoing litigation,” said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Brian Block.
