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April 22, 2014

Court Orders Release of Memo Justifying Targeted Killings 
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A federal appeals court has ordered the release of a secret government
memo that authorized the killings of Americans overseas. The American
Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times had filed a lawsuit under
the Freedom of Information Act seeking the legal basis for drone
strikes. The lawsuit came after the United States killed the
American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman,
and Samir Khan in Yemen, despite having never charged any of them with a
crime. In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit
Court of Appeals ordered the release of the memo and other related
documents. In a statement, the ACLU said the ruling marks a "resounding
rejection of the government’s effort to use secrecy and selective
disclosure to manipulate public opinion about the targeted killing
program."

 

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