US court strikes down part of anti-terror law

[Judi Lynn]

US court strikes down part of anti-terror law

December 04 2003 at 05:15AM



San Francisco - A United States federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down part of a 1996 federal anti-terrorism law, saying the government's definition of what constituted "material support" to foreign terror groups was too vague.

At issue is a statute that was the first to criminalise offering "material support" to foreign terror groups. That law was the precursor to the controversial 2001 Patriot Act which expanded the government's intelligence-gathering powers and increased penalties for activities classified as terrorist.

In their decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier preliminary ruling that prohibited the provision of "personnel" and "training" to groups designated by the United States as "terrorist organisations."

The court also ruled that before applying the law the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a donor to a group branded as a "foreign terrorist organisation" knew of its unlawful activities. (snip/..)

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