A portion of the USA Patriot Act that makes it a crime to provide “expert advice and assistance” to terrorist organizations, even if that aid is humanitarian, was challenged as unconstitutional Wednesday in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court. The suit, which names Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell as defendants, seeks an injunction barring the government from enforcing the contested section of the law. It was brought on behalf of five organizations and two individuals who said they want to support the “lawful humanitarian and political activities” of the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. Both groups appear on a State Department list of international terrorist organizations, making them subject to the restrictions imposed by the Patriot Act. Anyone convicted of violating the law can be sentenced to 15 years in prison. The lawsuit contends that the prohibition violates the 1st and 5th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Full Story
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