In court papers filed by the NYCLU, the civil liberties group asks a federal judge to grant an injunction “against ongoing violations” perpetrated by the NYPD in which officers of the law have spied on local Muslims through the guise of an alleged counterterrorism program. Of particular target is an elusive “Demographics Unit,” a squad of NYPD officers who have surveilled local Muslims in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks but only exposed last year by an expose published by the Associated Press.

The NYCLU insists that surveillance waged at Muslims must stop immediately, as spying on persons not linked to a specific crime violates the terms of a historic 1985 settlement known as the Handschu agreement.