Salaheddin Barhoum, 16, a high school sophomore, and Yassine Zaimi, 24, a part-time graduate student who works for a financial firm, visited the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 carrying backpacks with running gear because they are both avid runners, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. The two men chatted with others watching the marathon and left two hours before the bombings took place, the suit says.

When Mr. Zaimi and Mr. Barhoum discovered their images were circulating on online sites like Reddit as possible suspects, they both visited local police stations to answer questions. Court papers said they were both told that they were not suspects.

On April 18, The New York Post published a front-page photograph of both men carrying backpacks under the headline “Bag Men,” followed by an inside article with two additional photographs of the men. When Mr. Zaimi went to work that morning, his office manager showed him the article and “he immediately started shaking, his mouth went dry, and he felt as though he was having a panic attack,” according to the suit.

Mr. Barhoum learned about the case when he returned home from a track meet that morning and found his home swarmed by reporters, according to the suit. When he saw the newspaper, Mr. Barhoum “became terrified, began to shake and sweat, and felt dizzy and nauseous,” the suit says.

Max Stern, Mr. Barhoum’s lawyer, said the experience had a debilitating impact. “Everything he has attempted has suffered for this experience that has really changed his life and really shook him to his core,” Mr. Stern said.

Suzanne Halpin, a spokeswoman for The New York Post, declined to comment on the lawsuit and referred, instead, to a statement the paper issued on April 18. At the time, Col Allen, editor in chief of The New York Post, wrote: “We stand by our story. The image was e-mailed to law enforcement agencies yesterday afternoon seeking information about these men, as our story reported. We did not identify them as suspects.”

Mr. Stern said that his client never received an apology from The New York Post. “They have been unrepentant,” he said.

The lawsuit, which also claims defamation, seeks unspecified compensatory damages and payment of the men’s legal fees.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/business/media/new-york-post-sued-over-boston-bombing-article.html?partner=rss&emc=rss