The ACLU is suing Gen. James Mattis and the Department of Defense to keep an American citizen suspected of ties to ISIS who was captured in Syria and turned over to U.S. forces for interrogation in Iraq from being released back in Syria:
This is a death sentence.
Instead of safely releasing the American citizen the government has unlawfully detained in Iraq without charges for almost nine months, they plan to return him to Syria, a war-ravaged country the State Department advises citizens shouldn’t travel to. https://t.co/aTwtnGH6VA
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 7, 2018
Define safely. It’s not that this guy, listed as John Doe in the proceeding, doesn’t pose a threat. It’s that there’s not enough evidence to charge him with a crime:
The Trump administration has effectively admitted it has no reason to detain our client and he doesn’t pose a threat. But instead of offering a safe release, they want to dump an American citizen onto the side of a road in a war-torn country without protection or identification.
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 7, 2018
And this is a rich argument since the guy was first picked up in Syria:
To be clear: Our government has classified Syria an absolute 'do not travel' threat.
They literally encourage people to 'draft a will' and 'leave DNA samples with medical providers’ in the event they decide not to heed the government's warning, but want to dump our client there.
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 7, 2018
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To make matters more complicated, the ACLU wants this guy released to Saudi Arabia where he also has citizenship, but an appeals court just ruled that’s not possible. From the Washington Post:
The government cannot “forcibly — and irrevocably — transfer” an American citizen and suspected Islamic State member held in U.S. custody in Iraq to a third country, a federal appeals court ruled in an opinion made public Wednesday.
The 2-to-1 decision upholds an earlier ruling that blocked the imminent transfer of the man, who has been held without charges for more than seven months after he was captured in Syria and handed over to U.S. forces.
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“We know of no instance — in the history of the United States — in which the government has forcibly transferred an American citizen from one foreign country to another,” wrote Judge Sri Srinivasan, who was joined by Judge Robert L. Wilkins. “There is all the more reason, then, to proceed with considerable caution before recognizing such a power as unilateral.”
No wonder President Obama just droned American citizens suspected of terrorist ties.
The ACLU has until midnight to respond to the Department of Defense’s plan:
Judge Chutkan gives ACLU until midnight to formally object to DOD plan to release John Doe, the US citizen accused ISIS enemy combatant, in a Syrian town. If necessary (it will be bc they will) she'll hold a hearing at 9 a.m. tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/VaUhsbJgby
— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) June 7, 2018
The plan, fwiw, would basically drop John Doe off in Syria with food, water, a new cell phone and roughly $4,000, which was the amount of money he had on him when captured:
NEW: In just-posted court doc, DOD says its plan for releasing US citizen enemy combatant John Doe back in Syria includes telling SDF it's not seeking his detention, giving him a new phone, several days food/water, and about $4k. https://t.co/ozhnZMWC1Y pic.twitter.com/NNk0RvHqdC
— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) June 7, 2018
Seems fair!
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