press@ccrjustice.org
April 21, 2014, New York – In response to the ruling today by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordering the government to release a Justice Department legal memo justifying the “targeted killing” of U.S. citizens, including three citizens killed by U.S. drone strikes in 2011, who are the subject of Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta, a damages lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights issued the following statement:
The government has not only fought judicial
review of its killings of U.S. citizens Anwar Al-Aulaqi, Samir Khan and
teenager Abdulrahman Al-Aulaqi, but even basic transparency about its
claimed legal authority to kill American citizens and foreign citizens
suspected of being enemies. Today’s ruling is an important step forward
for public accountability around the government’s killing program. Legal
accountability for the devastating consequences of these killings must
follow as well.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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