U.S. government loses challenge to no-fly lists
Source: San Jose Mercury News
A former Stanford University doctoral student's legal rights were violated when the federal government put her on its secretive "no-fly" lists targeting suspected terrorists nine years ago, a San Francisco federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
In a decision for the most part filed under seal, U.S. District Judge William Alsup disclosed that Rahinah Ibrahim was mistakenly placed on the controversial list and that the government must now clear up the mistake. The decision comes in a case that has for the first time revealed how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security assembles the no-fly lists, used to tighten security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Obama administration has vigorously contested the case, warning that it might reveal top-secret information about the anti-terrorism program. As a result, Alsup put his ruling under seal until April to give the government an opportunity to persuade a federal appeals court to keep the order from being released publicly.
But Alsup issued a separate three-page ruling outlining the results for Ibrahim, who has been waging a high-profile legal battle since she learned she'd been placed on the no-fly list trying to board a 2005 flight to Hawaii from San Francisco International Airport.
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_24911422/u-s-government-loses-challenge-no-fly-lists
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