An Afghan woman accused by the US Justice Department of supporting an Islamic State-inspired terror plot has been deported to Afghanistan, in the first case brought before a secret court that had remained dormant for nearly three decades — Alien Terrorist Removal Court.
The woman, 47-year-old Nazira Haji Zada, was arrested at her home in Texas’s Fort Worth in July and brought before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court after the Justice Department sought her deportation. Prosecutors have said Tawhedi took several steps to advance his attack plans, including ordering AK-47 rifles, selling his family’s assets and purchasing one-way tickets for his wife and child to return to Afghanistan. During the hearing, one of Haji Zada’s attorneys, Matthew Farley, argued that the Trump administration’s decision to activate the court violated her constitutional rights. He urged the judge to dismiss the case and immediately release his client.
The department said Friday that Haji Zada had waived her rights to challenge her detention and agreed to be deported to Afghanistan. “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. An FBI memo dated July 15 said the agency had “developed information” that Zada was an Islamic State supporter who had made her children pledge loyalty to the terrorist group.
