An Afghan woman who was accused of supporting an Islamic State-inspired plot in the US and whose case was the first for an obscure and long-dormant court has been deported, the justice department said Friday.Nazira Haji Zada (47) was arrested in July at her Fort Worth, Texas, home and brought before the alien terrorist removal court on a justice department application to deport her from the US. On Friday, the department said that she had waived her rights to challenge her detention and had agreed to be deported to Afghanistan.Haji Zada’s attorneys said her decision to consent to removal “should not be seen as an endorsement of this court’s legitimacy”. “Dragging lawful permanent residents into court but refusing to show them or their attorneys the evidence that will be used against them is a plain violation of due process,” the defense lawyers said in a statement Friday. “We are confident that the Alien Terrorist Removal Court will be struck down as unconstitutional as soon as a judge is asked to address the issue.“Court filings about Haji Zada’s deportation, including a judge’s Aug 20 removal order, remained under seal until after she reached her destination. The swift resolution averts what could have been a protracted legal fight testing the authority of the court, which was established in 1996 but until July had not received any petitions, as well as the strength of allegations against Haji Zada.Attorney General Todd Blanche said the case’s outcome is “a win for national security and the rule of law.” AP
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