The New York Times, a leading US newspaper, on Wednesday lost its latest bid to get more information on the drone strikes carried out by the Obama administration against suspected terrorists.
A federal judge ruled that the administration did not break the law in refusing the paper’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for materials relating to the targeted killings of suspected terrorists, Politico reported.
The NYT was seeking legal justification for the drone strikes, according to media reports. Reporters Charlie Savage and Scott Shane joined the newspaper in filing the lawsuit in December 2011 after they were denied information about the programme, including the killing of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.
The programme has come under fire from multiple civil rights groups as a way to kill Americans without due process, although Attorney General Eric Holder has denied that contention.
Civil liberties groups have attacked the drone programme, which deploys pilotless aircraft, as in effect a green light for the government to kill Americans without constitutionally required due process.