SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US Families of Drone Victims, Rights Groups File Lawsuit
"Illegal, out of control, and must end”
Jul 18, 2012
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alongside family members of three US citizens who were killed in US drone strikes last year filed a lawsuit Wednesday against senior CIA and military officials. The lawsuit contends that the authorization of drone strikes which lead to the death of the three US citizens violated the US Constitution and international law.
The ACLU and the CCR contend that the drone strikes were part of a broader practice of extrajudicial "targeted killing" by the US and an assault on constitutional rights and due process.
"This suit is an effort to enforce the Constitution's fundamental guarantee against the deprivation of life without due process of law," said Jameel Jaffer, ACLU deputy legal director.
"The Constitution does not permit a bureaucratized program under which Americans far from any battlefield are summarily killed by their own government on the basis of shifting legal standards and allegations never tested in court."
The suit refers specifically to an incident on September 30, 2011, when US drones killed US citizens Anwar Al-Aulaqi and Samir Khan, as well as a similar incident two weeks later when a US drone killed Al-Aulaqi's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman Al-Aulaqi, at a restaurant. Both attacks occurred in Yemen.
Al-Aulaqi had been placed on CIA and Joint Special Operations Command "kill lists" a year before; however, the US government has never charged any of the victims with a crime.
"When a 16 year-old boy who has never been charged with a crime nor ever alleged to have committed a violent act is blown to pieces by US missiles, alarm bells should go off," said CCR Senior Staff Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei. "The U.S. program of sending drones into countries in and against which it is not at war and eliminating so-called enemies on the basis of executive memos and conference calls is illegal, out of control, and must end."
The suit aims to force the Obama administration to disclose details about the decisions that led to the attacks. 'Targeted Killings' of civilians around the world have become commonplace practices of the Obama administration, which has recently come under scrutiny by the United Nation's Human Rights Council (UNHRC). UN investigator and special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, condemned the continued use of US drones to assassinate suspected militants and questioned the legality of the Obama administration's program under international law.
The current suit names as defendants Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; CIA Director David Petraeus; Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command and Gen. Joseph Votel, Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alongside family members of three US citizens who were killed in US drone strikes last year filed a lawsuit Wednesday against senior CIA and military officials. The lawsuit contends that the authorization of drone strikes which lead to the death of the three US citizens violated the US Constitution and international law.
The ACLU and the CCR contend that the drone strikes were part of a broader practice of extrajudicial "targeted killing" by the US and an assault on constitutional rights and due process.
"This suit is an effort to enforce the Constitution's fundamental guarantee against the deprivation of life without due process of law," said Jameel Jaffer, ACLU deputy legal director.
"The Constitution does not permit a bureaucratized program under which Americans far from any battlefield are summarily killed by their own government on the basis of shifting legal standards and allegations never tested in court."
The suit refers specifically to an incident on September 30, 2011, when US drones killed US citizens Anwar Al-Aulaqi and Samir Khan, as well as a similar incident two weeks later when a US drone killed Al-Aulaqi's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman Al-Aulaqi, at a restaurant. Both attacks occurred in Yemen.
Al-Aulaqi had been placed on CIA and Joint Special Operations Command "kill lists" a year before; however, the US government has never charged any of the victims with a crime.
"When a 16 year-old boy who has never been charged with a crime nor ever alleged to have committed a violent act is blown to pieces by US missiles, alarm bells should go off," said CCR Senior Staff Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei. "The U.S. program of sending drones into countries in and against which it is not at war and eliminating so-called enemies on the basis of executive memos and conference calls is illegal, out of control, and must end."
The suit aims to force the Obama administration to disclose details about the decisions that led to the attacks. 'Targeted Killings' of civilians around the world have become commonplace practices of the Obama administration, which has recently come under scrutiny by the United Nation's Human Rights Council (UNHRC). UN investigator and special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, condemned the continued use of US drones to assassinate suspected militants and questioned the legality of the Obama administration's program under international law.
The current suit names as defendants Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; CIA Director David Petraeus; Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command and Gen. Joseph Votel, Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alongside family members of three US citizens who were killed in US drone strikes last year filed a lawsuit Wednesday against senior CIA and military officials. The lawsuit contends that the authorization of drone strikes which lead to the death of the three US citizens violated the US Constitution and international law.
The ACLU and the CCR contend that the drone strikes were part of a broader practice of extrajudicial "targeted killing" by the US and an assault on constitutional rights and due process.
"This suit is an effort to enforce the Constitution's fundamental guarantee against the deprivation of life without due process of law," said Jameel Jaffer, ACLU deputy legal director.
"The Constitution does not permit a bureaucratized program under which Americans far from any battlefield are summarily killed by their own government on the basis of shifting legal standards and allegations never tested in court."
The suit refers specifically to an incident on September 30, 2011, when US drones killed US citizens Anwar Al-Aulaqi and Samir Khan, as well as a similar incident two weeks later when a US drone killed Al-Aulaqi's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman Al-Aulaqi, at a restaurant. Both attacks occurred in Yemen.
Al-Aulaqi had been placed on CIA and Joint Special Operations Command "kill lists" a year before; however, the US government has never charged any of the victims with a crime.
"When a 16 year-old boy who has never been charged with a crime nor ever alleged to have committed a violent act is blown to pieces by US missiles, alarm bells should go off," said CCR Senior Staff Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei. "The U.S. program of sending drones into countries in and against which it is not at war and eliminating so-called enemies on the basis of executive memos and conference calls is illegal, out of control, and must end."
The suit aims to force the Obama administration to disclose details about the decisions that led to the attacks. 'Targeted Killings' of civilians around the world have become commonplace practices of the Obama administration, which has recently come under scrutiny by the United Nation's Human Rights Council (UNHRC). UN investigator and special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, condemned the continued use of US drones to assassinate suspected militants and questioned the legality of the Obama administration's program under international law.
The current suit names as defendants Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; CIA Director David Petraeus; Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command and Gen. Joseph Votel, Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy