American journalists in Syria are challenging their placement on the U.S. government’s drone kill list. Bilal Abdul Kareem and Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan’s reporting includes contacts with extremist leaders but that they claim they are not involved in any terrorism. A federal court ruled this week that Kareem could pursue constitutional right to due process. (Courthouse News Service, June 13, 2018, by Britain Easkin)
Federal district court judge Rosemary Collyer rejected the government’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit but did not include Zaidan in that he is a Pakistani and Syrian citizen. Collyer wrote that “due process is not merely an old and dusty procedural obligation required by Robert’s Rules. Instead, it is a living, breathing concept that protects U.S. persons from overreaching government action even, perhaps, on an occasion of war. As a U.S. citizen, he [Kareem] seeks to clarify his status and profession to Defendants and, thereby, assert his right to due process and a prior opportunity to be heard. His interest in avoiding the erroneous deprivation of his life is uniquely compelling.” (Politico, June 13, 2018, by Josh Gerstein)