Story highlights US citizen detained over three months

He is virtually incommunicado

(CNN) A federal judge ruled Saturday night that the US Defense Department should allow a US citizen detained as an "enemy combatant" in Iraq immediate access to a legal counsel.

The unnamed American citizen who has been accused of fighting on behalf of ISIS in Syria has been in custody of US armed forces for over three months with "no contact or communication with anyone except government personnel" and representatives from the Red Cross, according to court documents.

In her order, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia required the department to give the American Civil Liberties Union access to the unnamed detainee to determine if he wants the advocacy group or a court-appointed attorney to challenge his detention.

Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit requesting that the man be given access to counsel and demanding that the Trump administration justify his continued detention without charges. The Justice Department says the ACLU has no standing to sue because the group has not proved that the individual wants it to sue on his behalf.

The individual, whose precise location has not been disclosed, surrendered to US-backed militia forces in Syria and was turned over to US forces in mid-September, according to court documents.

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