Hina Shamsi

Hina Shamsi is the director of the ACLU National Security Project, which is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices are consistent with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights.  She engages in litigation, research, and policy advocacy on issues including the freedoms of speech and association, privacy and surveillance, discrimination against racial and religious minorities, use of force, torture, and unlawful detention. Her work includes a focus on counterterrorism and surveillance programs and policies, and their impacts on civil liberties and rights.  She previously worked as a staff attorney in the ACLU National Security Project and was the acting director of Human Rights First’s Law & Security Program. She also served as senior advisor to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. Shamsi is the author and coauthor of publications on surveillance, targeted killing, torture, and extraordinary rendition. She is also a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches a course on international human rights. Shamsi is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Northwestern University School of Law.