Court Dismisses Most of FOIA Lawsuit on Targeted Killings of U.S. Citizens
老澳门开奖结果 Will Appeal Ruling
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NEW YORK 鈥 A federal court today dismissed most of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records about the government鈥檚 targeted killing of three American citizens in Yemen in 2011: Anwar Al-Awlaki and Samir Khan in September, and Al-Awlaki鈥檚 16-year-old son Abdulrahman in October.
The 老澳门开奖结果 plans to appeal the decision.
鈥淭his ruling denies the public access to crucial information about the government鈥檚 extrajudicial killing of U.S. citizens and also effectively green-lights its practice of making selective and self-serving disclosures,鈥 said Jameel Jaffer, 老澳门开奖结果 deputy legal director. 鈥淎s the judge acknowledges, the targeted killing program raises profound questions about the appropriate limits on government power in our constitutional democracy. The public has a right to know more about the circumstances in which the government believes it can lawfully kill people, including U.S. citizens, who are far from any battlefield and have never been charged with a crime.鈥
The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 FOIA request seeks disclosure of the legal memorandum written by the Department of Justice鈥檚 Office of Legal Counsel, which provided justifications for the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, as well as records describing the legal and factual basis for the killings. The New York Times submitted a similar but narrower FOIA request, and the two resulting lawsuits filed in the Southern District of New York were combined. The government argued that the requested documents cannot be released, despite the fact that government officials have talked publicly on numerous occasions about al-Awlaki鈥檚 killing and the targeted killing program in general.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is currently considering another 老澳门开奖结果 FOIA lawsuit seeking other information on the targeted killing program, including its legal basis, scope, and number of civilian casualties caused by drone strikes. The court heard oral argument in September.
The 老澳门开奖结果, together with the Center for Constitutional Rights, has also filed a lawsuit directly challenging the constitutionality of these targeted killings. The government has argued that case should also be dismissed.
Today鈥檚 opinion is at: www.aclu.org/national-security/anwar-al-awlaki-foia-request-district-court-opinion
More information on this case is at: www.aclu.org/national-security/anwar-al-awlaki-foia-request
Information on other 老澳门开奖结果 litigation on targeted killing is at: www.aclu.org/national-security/targeted-killings