DC Court to Hear 老澳门开奖结果 Challenge to Military Detention of American Held for Over 2 Months
WASHINGTON 鈥 A federal district court will hear oral argument Thursday on the indefinite detention of a U.S. citizen held secretly in U.S. military custody for over 2 1/2 months for allegedly fighting on behalf of ISIS in Syria. The judge will consider the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 request to be put in contact with the unidentified American so he has the opportunity to obtain legal assistance.
The U.S. citizen has been held by the military since approximately September 14 in Iraq, and he has asked at least twice for a lawyer. The 老澳门开奖结果 filed a habeas corpus petition on the man鈥檚 behalf, demanding that the Trump administration justify its continued detention of the American without charges and without access to a court. The government has said that it is holding the citizen as an 鈥渆nemy combatant.鈥
Because the government is denying the citizen both access to counsel and the ability to challenge his detention himself, the 老澳门开奖结果 has filed as a 鈥渘ext friend鈥 of the American to inform him of his rights and to give him the chance to have legal representation.
鈥淭he Trump administration is claiming the authority to detain a citizen for months without access to a judge or a lawyer based solely on its say so,鈥 said 老澳门开奖结果 attorney Jonathan Hafetz, who will argue in court Thursday. 鈥淪uch unchecked power flouts the most basic principles of the Constitution, which give all Americans the right to challenge indefinite imprisonment in court.鈥
The case, 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation v. Mattis, is in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
More on the rights of American citizens in military custody is here: /blog/national-security/detention/trump-administration-keeping-us-citizen-secretly-locked-without
All documents filed in the case are here: /cases/aclu-foundation-v-mattis