US Deports Afghan Woman in Historic Terrorism Court Case

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Washington: The United States deported Nazira Haji Zada, a 47 years old Afghan lady and a legal permanent resident, in the first case filed before the country's secretive Alien Terrorist Removal Court, which was established by Congress in 1996 but has never been used.

The Justice Department accused Haji Zada of assisting in the concealment of an Islamic State-inspired conspiracy to carry out a mass massacre on Election Day 2024. She was not criminally accused, but her son and son-in-law pleaded guilty in related cases.

The court authorises the government to rely on classified material that defendants and their lawyers cannot access, prompting her attorneys to claim that the process violates constitutional due-process rights. Haji Zada eventually agreed to her deportation and accepted the label of ‘alien terrorist.’

Haji Zada's attorney stated that her approval to depart should not be seen as acknowledging the legality of the clandestine court, while US Attorney General Todd Blanche referred to the deportation as a national security achievement.