Civil Rights Groups Sue Over Claimed US Kill List
Civil liberties groups filed a federal lawsuit today against the United States government on behalf of a U.S.-born cleric who is in hiding in Yemen.
Anwar al-Aulaqi has been unconstitutionally placed on a U.S. kill list because of his suspected involvement in terrorist activities, contend the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Their complaint (PDF), which names as defendants the president of the United States, the director of the CIA and the secretary of the Department of Defense, was filed in Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Post.
“The United States cannot simply execute people, including its own citizens, anywhere in the world based on its own say-so,” said Vince Warren of the Center for Constitutional Rights in a written statement. “That the government adds people to kill lists after a bureaucratic process and leaves them on the lists for months at a time flies in the face of the Constitution and international law.”
Spokesmen for U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and the Justice Department said the government is using all legal, necessary and appropriate force to defeat al-Qaida.
