News & Commentary written by Hina Shamsi

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Hina Shamsi

Director, ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµNational Security Project

Bio

Hina Shamsi () is the director of the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµNational Security Project, which is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices comply with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights. She has engaged in litigation, research, and policy advocacy on issues including the freedoms of speech and association, racial and religious discrimination, unlawful uses of force and detention, privacy and surveillance, and torture. Her work includes a focus on the intersection of national security and counterterrorism policies with international human rights and humanitarian law.

Hina has testified before Congress and appears regularly in the media. She is the author and co-author of publications on targeted killing, torture, and extraordinary rendition, and has monitored and reported on the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay. She is also a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches a course in international human rights.

Before joining the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµin her current position, Hina worked as a senior advisor to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions; as a staff attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project; as the acting director and senior counsel of Human Rights First's Law & Security Program; and, as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Hina is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Northwestern University School of Law.


Featured work

Oct 15, 2025

How NSPM-7 Seeks to Use Domestic Terrorism to Target Nonprofits and Activists

How NSPM-7 Seeks to Use Domestic Terrorism to Target Nonprofits and Activists

Apr 16, 2025

Trump's Expanded Domestic Military Use Should Worry Us All

Trump's Expanded Domestic Military Use Should Worry Us All

Dec 26, 2024

Where Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth Stands on Civil Liberties

Where Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth Stands on Civil Liberties

Jan 24, 2024

The Importance of Defending the Free Speech Rights of Pro-Palestinian Students in Florida

The Importance of Defending the Free Speech Rights of Pro-Palestinian Students in Florida

Jan 8, 2024

The Supreme Court Must Allow U.S. Citizens to Challenge Placement on No Fly List

The Supreme Court Must Allow U.S. Citizens to Challenge Placement on No Fly List

Sep 21, 2023

RICO and Domestic Terrorism Charges Against Cop City Activists Send a Chilling Message

RICO and Domestic Terrorism Charges Against Cop City Activists Send a Chilling Message

Jan 11, 2022

20 Years Later, Guantánamo Remains a Disgraceful Stain on Our Nation. It Needs to End.

20 Years Later, Guantánamo Remains a Disgraceful Stain on Our Nation. It Needs to End.

Sep 10, 2021

20 Years After 9/11, We Have a Roadmap Toward a More Just and Equitable Future

20 Years After 9/11, We Have a Roadmap Toward a More Just and Equitable Future

Jul 9, 2021

Biden’s Domestic Terrorism Strategy Entrenches Bias and Harmful Law Enforcement Power

Biden’s Domestic Terrorism Strategy Entrenches Bias and Harmful Law Enforcement Power

May 5, 2021

Trump’s Secret Rules for Drone Strikes and Presidents’ Unchecked License to Kill

Trump’s Secret Rules for Drone Strikes and Presidents’ Unchecked License to Kill