Agron Hasbajrami is a U.S. resident who was arrested at JFK airport in 2011 on his way to Pakistan and charged with providing material support to terrorists. Although the government used Section 702, its warrantless Internet surveillance authority, to build its case against Hasbajrami, it withheld this fact from his lawyers. Only after the Snowden revelations (and after conviction) did the government inform a handful of defendants, including Hasbajrami, that they had been subject to warrantless surveillance. Hasbajrami is now in front of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which will be the second appeals court to review the legality of Section 702 surveillance after the Ninth Circuit’s misguided decision in United States v. Mohamud last year.

Along with the ACLU, EFF filed amicus briefs in both the district and appeals courts.