Monday, June 21, 2010

NGOs Lose Supreme Court Terror Support Case

Finally, a Supreme Court decision that makes sense to me, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project...

From the Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has upheld a federal law that bars "material support" to foreign terrorist organizations, rejecting a free speech challenge from humanitarian aid groups.

The court ruled 6-3 Monday that the government may prohibit all forms of aid to designated terrorist groups, even if the support consists of training and advice about entirely peaceful and legal activities.

Material support intended even for benign purposes can help a terrorist group in other ways, Chief Justice John Roberts said in his majority opinion.

"Such support frees up other resources within the organization that may be put to violent ends," Roberts said.
You can read the complete text of the decision here. (ht SCOTUS Blog)