Man Wrongfully Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Is Suing N.Y.C. for $40 Million

A man exonerated in the murder of civil rights leader Malcolm X is suing the city of New York and former law enforcement for $40 million, according to multiple reports.

According to ABC News, 84-year-old Muhammad Aziz is suing on the grounds of malicious prosecution, denial of due process rights and government misconduct.

Aziz — who was 26 years old and a father of six at the time of Malcolm X's assassination — served 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of the crime, which took place at the Audubon Ballroom in N.Y.C. in 1965 when Malcolm X was moments away from giving a speech. Aziz's co-defendant, Khalil Islam, also spent 22 years behind bars for the crime he did not commit.

Islam died in 2009 at the age of 79, but the pair were cleared of Malcolm X's murder in November 2021, following a two-year long reinvestigation into the case.

On Thursday, attorneys for Aziz filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn seeking monetary compensation, 55 years after the murder took place, The Washington Post reports.

"As a result of his wrongful conviction and imprisonment, Mr. Aziz spent 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and more than 55 years living with the hardship and indignity attendant to being unjustly branded as a convicted murderer of one of the most important civil rights leaders in history," attorneys David Shanies and Deborah Francois wrote in the civil complaint obtained by the Post.

Shanies, who also represents Islam's estate, told ABC News the two men were "imprisoned for decades — 42 years between them — as the result of outrageous government misconduct and violations of their constitutional rights."

"Justice delayed for far too long is justice denied. Mr. Aziz just turned 84 and Mr. Islam tragically died before seeing his name cleared."

"These men and their families should not be delayed compensation for the gross injustices they suffered," Shanies said.

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A third man convicted in the slaying, Mujahid Abdul Halim, admitted to his role in the crime, and backed up Aziz and Islam's assertions of innocence.

Following the men's exoneration last year, Aziz told PEOPLE, "The events that led to my conviction and wrongful imprisonment should never have happened. Those events were the result of a process that was corrupt to its core — one that is all too familiar — even in 2021."

"I am an 83-year-old man who was victimized by the criminal justice system, and I do not know how many more years I have to be creative," he continued. "However, I hope the same system that was responsible for this travesty of justice also takes responsibility for the immeasurable harm it caused me."

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment, but in a statement obtained by the Post, New York Mayor Eric Adams said: "As someone who has fought for a fairer criminal justice system for my entire career, I believe the overturning of Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam's convictions was the just outcome. We are reviewing the lawsuit."