For six weeks, Yahya Wehelie has been in limbo in the Egyptian capital. US officials told him he is on the no-fly list because of people he met in Yemen during his time there. He and his parents say he has no radical views, despises Al-Qaeda and merely wants to get home to complete his education and get a job.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called for the return of 26-year-old Wehelie to the United States.

CAIR said Wehelie and his younger brother, both of Somali heritage, were stopped by FBI agents as they traveled home from Yemen. Agents told Wehelie that his name was on the "no-fly list." The younger brother, Yusuf, was allowed to return to the US, but only after he was held in an Egyptian policy facility for several days.

Yusuf Wehelie said he and his brother faced repeated FBI interrogations, despite assertion of their constitutional right to remain silent as advised by their attorney.

At a news conference organized by CAIR on Wednesday, Yusuf told reporters that before being sent to an Egyptian prison for three days he was interrogated by a man who claimed to work for the CIA who questioned him about his contacts with another American in Yemen, one accused of joining Al-Qaeda and fatally shooting a hospital guard.

CAIR says the no-fly list is being used as a form of "extraordinary rendition" and is calling on the Obama administration to intervene.

"Extraordinary rendition" is the illegal practice of handing suspects to foreign governments knowing they will face harsh treatment or even torture during interrogations.

CAIR's National Executive Director Nihad Awad sent a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder this week expressing concern over American Muslims who are stranded overseas. Part of the letter specifically addresses Wehelie and his brother.

In his letter to Holder, Awad described the pressure exerted on Wehelie and on others in similar circumstances: "His passport was confiscated and FBI agents have subjected him to at least eight interrogations, despite assertion of his constitutional right to remain silent as advised by his attorney. He has been explicitly told that he is on the no-fly list, and he has been pressured to submit to a polygraph test.

"After a polygraph test on June 8, he was allegedly told by an agent that, based on his answers, he would 'never see the United States or your family again' unless he 'rethought' his answers. Subsequently, he says he has been pressured by the FBI to spy on the American Muslim community when and if he is allowed to return to the United States.

"If the FBI wishes to question American citizens, they should be allowed to return to the United States where they will be able to maintain their constitutional rights free of threats or intimidation," noted Awad who said these actions sends the message "that Muslims are second class citizens and that the due process of law does not apply to them."

Wehelie's predicament reflects the aggressive response of American counterterrorism officials to recent close calls with major terrorist plots: Last year's foiled plan to blow up the New York City subway; the failed attempt to down an airliner headed for Detroit on Dec. 25; and the unsuccessful car bombing in New York's Times Square on May 1.

The case also illustrates the daunting challenge, both for people like Wehelie of proving that they pose no security threat.

Counterterrorism officials have focused especially on Yemen, where the Dec. 25 bomber was trained. Traditionally, Yemen has been a popular and inexpensive place for Americans and others to study Arabic. After being accused of failing to keep the would-be bomber off the plane to Detroit last December, the government's Terrorist Screening Center has since doubled the no-fly list to 8,000 names, according to counterterrorism officials.