Federal judge rules 72-hour notice required to ACLU in Iraq detainee transfer case News
Federal judge rules 72-hour notice required to ACLU in Iraq detainee transfer case

A federal judge ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that the Department of Defense [official website] must give the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] 72 hours notice before transferring an American detained abroad in order to allow for a legal challenge before the transfer happens.

The ruling came from Judge Tanya Chutkan [official profile] in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] in the case of John Doe v. General James Mattis, the US Secretary of Defense. In September a US citizen and detainee surrendered to Syrian Democratic Forces where he was transferred to the US Armed Forces and has held since, without charges or counsel.

Chutkan ruled in December [JURIST report] that the US must allow the ACLU access. Wednesday’s ruling takes this a step further, providing the military cannot detain the American in secret or without counsel as a violation of the citizens’ right to due process.

The court found that classified information provided by the Defense Department does not present “positive legal authority” for Petitioner’s transfer. “Neither does the Defense Department’s assertion that ‘international relations’ with the receiving country would be harmed should the court prohibit his transfer at this time.”