Two civil liberties groups argued in federal court this week that the U.S. government does not have the legal right to order the assassination of American citizens overseas even if they advocate terrorist violence.

 

The case was brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the father of Anwar al-Awlaki. The U.S.-born Muslim cleric has been hiding out in Yemen, calling for the death of all Americans. Al-Awlaki also is accused of being linked to the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, and the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound flight last Christmas.

 

ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer told the courtroom that the Obama administration’s effort to kill al-Awlaki amounted to “imposing the death penalty without trial.”

 

Attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice said the president has the power to place Americans on a so-called “kill list” based on authority granted by Congress after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

CCR and the ACLU v. OFAC & Al-Aulaqi v. Obama (Center for Constitutional Rights)

US Says It Has Legal Authority to Kill American-Born Anwar Al-Awlaki (by Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor)

Lawyers for Cleric's Father Fighting to Keep Son Off Kill List as He Urges Death to Americans (by Nedra Pickler, Associated Press)

Yemen Government Refuses to Support U.S. Assassination Plans (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)