"Anticipatory Prosecution" in the War on Terror: The Hamid Hayat Story

After serving 14 years in prison for allegedly attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, Hamid Hayat was freed on August 9, 2019, when a federal judge overturned his conviction. Mr. Hayat's lawyer, Layli Shirani, and Professor Shirin Sinnar will discuss Mr. Hayat's unjust imprisonment in the context of a broader critique of the "anticipatory prosecution" model in the War on Terror.

Layli Shirani has been representing the criminally accused since 2007, but she began work on behalf of Hamid Hayat in 2006, while still a law student. In 2008, she joined the legal defense team of Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the so-called "Guantanamo Five," as part of the ACLU's John Adams Project. More recently, Layli has been active in clemency and parole-related cases, as they merge her interest in the intersection of mental health and criminal law, as well as involving the liberty interests of incarcerated individuals who have otherwise been forgotten by society.

Shirin Sinnar is Professor of Law and John A. Wilson Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School. Her scholarship focuses on the legal treatment of political violence, the procedural dimensions of civil rights litigation, and the role of institutions in protecting individual rights and democratic values in the national security context. Her recent work assesses the legal regime for domestic and international terrorism under U.S. law.