WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has freed an American citizen whom the military imprisoned without trial for more than 13 months as a suspected Islamic State member, United States officials said on Monday. His release brings a close to a legal saga that raised novel issues about the scope of the government’s national security powers and individual rights. The man, a dual American and Saudi citizen, was captured in September 2017 by a Kurdish militia in Syria. The Kurds turned him over to the American military, which held him as a wartime detainee at a base in Iraq while a court battle over his fate played out. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was released in Bahrain, where his wife and daughter are living. The identity of the man at the center of the extraordinary case has been kept secret, so he has been called “John Doe” in court filings and public debates. But his real name is Abdulrahman Ahmad Alsheikh, The New York Times has learned, in part by obtaining an unredacted version of his Islamic State intake form and identifying public records about him. His release means that a major question his detention raised about how the United States fights war — whether the government has authority to use wartime powers against the Islamic State without explicit congressional authorization — will evade a definitive court ruling, for now. Even so, his case established an important historical precedent: The American government locked up a citizen for more than a year without charging him with a crime.<doc-sep>The Trump administration has released an American citizen who was captured and accused of being a member of ISIS, but never charged after more than a year in U.S. custody. His release ends the long legal saga and questions over what power the U.S. government has to detain a U.S. citizen and what power the executive branch has to fight ISIS without explicit congressional authorization -- questions that will now remain largely unanswered. The man, who requested anonymity and was referred to as "John Doe" in court filings, was released on Sunday, a spokesperson for the ACLU confirmed to ABC News Monday. The ACLU, which represented the suspect in his battle with the U.S. government, said it could not disclose where he was released because of a confidential settlement agreement with the government, but a U.S. official confirmed he was freed in Bahrain, where his wife and daughter are living, according to the New York Times. "This is a victory our client fought for long and hard. 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," ACLU senior staff attorney Jonathan Hafetz said in a statement. "John Doe," whom the Times identified as Abdulrahman Ahmad Alsheikh, was originally detained in September 2017 by Kurdish forces of the Syrian Democratic Army, America's ally on the ground in Syria, who then handed him over to U.S. officials. The U.S. government argued that because he was an "enemy combatant" who was captured on the battlefield working for ISIS, he could be detained indefinitely, citing the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF)that gives the president the legal ability to go after al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their supporters. But the ACLU and "John Doe" denied the allegations against him and argued that the AUMF did not cover the war against ISIS. They demanded that "John Doe" be charged or released. Instead, the U.S. first tried to transfer "John Doe," a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen, to Saudi Arabia's custody without informing the court or his lawyers. But a federal court blocked that plan, writing that it was unprecedented: "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." Afterward, the U.S. instead proposed dropping "John Doe" in Syria near where he was first picked up, leaving him with his clothes, $4,210 in cash -- the same amount he had when he was captured -- a new cell phone, and "sufficient food and water to last for several days," according to a government filing. That plan was also blocked by a court after the ACLU challenged it, calling it a "death warrant" and "a disgraceful way to treat an American citizen." Shortly after that, according to the ACLU, the government began settlement discussions with them, continuing to hold "John Doe" in detention in Iraq until his release Sunday. The U.S. government accused "John Doe" of traveling to Syria in 2014 and again in 2015 to join ISIS as he used a Twitter account to promote and interact with the terror group. He told U.S. investigators that he worked for the group after he entered Syria in March 2015 in various administrative roles. But he said that he did so unwillingly as a prisoner after entering Syria as a freelance journalist, according to court filings. While the U.S. government called him a "fighter," it never detailed whether he picked up a weapon and fought and when. In the end, the U.S. never brought charges against him, with the ACLU saying it was "unwilling to justify our client's detention to a court." Still, the government was allowed to detain a U.S. citizen for more than 13 months without charging him with a crime, a case that some legal experts warn sets a dangerous precedent. ABC News's Luis Martinez contributed to this report.<doc-sep>“My case has shown the worst and the best of my country,” the man said in a statement issued by his lawyers. “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.”<doc-sep>
(CNN) — The US military has released an American citizen who was suspected of being a member of ISIS, two US officials told CNN. The officials said the individual was transported to Bahrain where he was released. The American was captured by US-backed anti-ISIS fighters in Syria and was held by the US military in Iraq since September 2017 without ever being tried. One official identified the individual as Abdulrahman Ahmad Alsheikh and said that his US passport has been cancelled. Alsheikh’s release was first reported by the New York Times. The dual US-Saudi national’s fate was the subject of a months-long legal battle between the US government and the American Civil Liberties Union. A federal judge had previously blocked efforts by the US government to transfer him to a third country or release him in Syria. In a statement issued Monday, the ACLU confirmed reports of his release, saying he was “now a free man.” “Under a confidential settlement agreement, the US government has released him in an unnamed country,” the statement said. “Our client has fought long and hard for his rights,” Jonathan Hafetz, the senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, said in the statement. “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the Trump administration thought it could trample over the rights of this American citizen. This case shows the enduring importance of the courts in safeguarding the rights of Americans against government overreach,” Hafetz added. Defense Department officials have said that the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces has over 700 foreign terrorist fighters in custody from some 40 countries. US officials have sought to encourage countries to repatriate their citizens in detention in Syria in order to ease the burden on the SDF’s detention facilities. However many countries are reluctant to do so due to the difficulty of prosecuting suspected ISIS members based on evidence collected on the battlefield. CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed reporting.