The US government is facing a new legal challenge to its authorization of assassinating US citizens accused of terrorism links abroad. On Tuesday, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit over the government’s refusal to allow legal action targeting the assassination policy. The suit was filed on behalf of the father of Yemen-based Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is said to be the first US citizen added to a CIA list of targets for capture or killing. Last month, al-Awlaki was designated “specially designated global terrorist,” which makes it a crime to represent him in court. Bill Quigley of the Center for Constitutional Rights said Awlaki is entitled to legal redress.

Bill Quigley: “The issue in this case is the right of citizens to be able to go to court to challenge government action. Here, the government is trying to assassinate a US citizen who they say is a terrorist. The ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights are trying to go into court to challenge that assassination effort, but at this point we have to get permission from the government to even go into court to represent them to raise these constitutional issues. So we think that’s unconstitutional, and we’re asking that the court strike that down and allow us to get to the point of this, which is under what circumstances can the government execute somebody without due process of law.”