After September 11 2001, the US government created a "no fly" list of alleged terrorists who were not allowed to fly within or to the United States. The list now has tens of thousands of names on it, and has led to numerous cases wher einnocent people have been forbidden to fly. But today, a federla judged ruled that is is unconstitutional:
The U.S. government offers no adequate method for people to challenge their placement on its no-fly list, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case involving 13 Muslims who believe they're on the list.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown found people lack a meaningful way to challenge their placement on the list, which bars them from flying to or within the United States. She also said the 13 people who sued the government have been unconstitutionally deprived of their right to fly.
"This should serve as wakeup call to the government," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Hina Shamsi. "This decision also benefits other people wrongly stuck on the no-fly list because it affords them (an opportunity to challenge) a Kafkaesque bureaucracy."
The US government now has to provide people on the list with an effective means of challenging the ban, and a summary of information being used against them.
Meanwhile, apparently the list is shared with 22 countries. Which invites the question: are we one of them? Wikileaks has shown that NZ Immigration has expressed interest in the list, so its quite likely that our government is collaborating in an unlawful blacklist to restrict freedom of movement.
