Appeals court slaps down antiterrorism Law
A federal appeals court panel ruled on Wednesday that crucial parts of an antiterrorism law were unconstitutional because the law, which the Bush administration relies on heavily, risks ensnaring innocent humanitarians.
A panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that the law failed to require clearly that a suspect knowingly provided support to a terrorist organization.
Under the current law — a law rammed through by the Bush Administration — you can be prosecuted for writing a check to a charity they deem as terrorist – and they do not have to prove you knew it.
Under the government’s interpretation, the court found, a person who sends a check to an orphanage in Sri Lanka run by a banned group or “a woman who buys cookies from a bake sale outside of her grocery store to support displaced Kurdish refugees” could face a lengthy prison sentence for supporting terrorists.
Grotesque laws like this deserve to be slapped down.