U.S. releases detained citizen
Saudi-American held more than a year without charges
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has released a dual American-Saudi citizen who was suspected of working with the Islamic State and detained by the U.S. military for more than a year without charge, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday.
The ACLU said the identity of the man and the country where he was released are protected by a court order to ensure the safety of him and his family. The New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said the man was released in Bahrain. The man, who is married and has a young daughter, once lived and studied in Louisiana.
His release followed months of legal wrangling between government lawyers and the ACLU. It has been a test case for how the government should treat U.S. citizens picked up on the battlefield and accused of fighting alongside Islamic State militants.
“This is a victory our client fought for long and hard,” said his ACLU attorney, Jonathan Hafetz. “The victory sends a strong message that the president cannot take away an American’s liberty without due process, and it shows the continuing importance of judicial review.”
The ACLU has argued since October 2017 that the government should either charge or release the man. Negotiations for releasing him began after the ACLU filed an emergency request in June to block the government’s plan to release him in war-torn Syria.
“When I fled violence in Syria, I never imagined that my country would deny me access to a lawyer for nearly four months and imprison me without charge in solitary confinement for over a year,” the detainee said in a statement released by the ACLU.
“No one — no matter what they are suspected of — should be treated the way my government treated me. Once I got the chance to stand up for my rights, the Constitution and the courts protected me.”
The man, who was detained in Iraq, told his attorneys that he wished to remain anonymous so that he could rebuild his life.
U.S. government officials did not respond to several requests seeking comment.
The government argued in court it could detain the citizen under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, which Congress passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The ACLU, however, argued that those war powers pertain to al-Qaida and the Taliban and don’t apply in the battle against the Islamic State.
In defense of the detention, U.S. authorities said that when the man surrendered in mid-September to U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, he was carrying thumb drives containing thousands of files. There were 10,000 or more photos — some depicting pages of military-style manuals. There were files on how to make specific types of improvised explosive devices and bombs.
The detainee said he had press credentials to do freelance writing about the conflict in Syria, although the FBI hasn’t found any published articles or blogs he authored.