U.S. citizen held after capture in Syria must be allowed to talk to lawyer, judge says

WASHINGTON – A U.S. citizen being held without charges in Iraq must be allowed to meet with a lawyer to see if he wants to challenge his detention, a federal judge ordered.

The man, who is accused of fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has been held as an enemy combatant by the military since he surrendered to a U.S.-backed militia in Syria in September.

The man hasn't been charged with a crime, but the U.S. government has continued to detain him while officials try to decide how to handle his case.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Saturday night that the American Civil Liberties Union be given "immediate" access to the detainee, either in person or by teleconference, to see if he wants the ACLU or another lawyer to represent him. She also said the government could not monitor the conversation and barred the military from transferring the man to another country.

The New York Times reported that the man has U.S. and Saudi citizenship and that Trump administration officials were discussing sending him to Saudi Arabia. In a filing, Justice Department lawyer Kathryn Wyer acknowledged that a transfer to another country is among the options under consideration.

The government argued in court that there was no evidence the man wanted the ACLU to represent him and said the law gives the military a "reasonable" period to decide the disposition of prisoners captured on the battlefield.

But the judge called that position "disingenuous at best," since the man had already asked for a lawyer.

Jonathan Hafetz, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU, said "the ruling says immediate access, and that is what we will be demanding the government provide us."

"This is a critical ruling that rejects the Trump administration's unprecedented attempt to block an American citizen from challenging his executive imprisonment," he said.

Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, said the government was reviewing the decision.

In recent years, the government has been using the federal criminal courts to handle captured terrorism suspects. But in this case, the government appears to have struggled to come up with evidence to file criminal charges. The man talked to intelligence officers, but a second interrogation, for law enforcement purposes, never began because the man asked to see a lawyer first.