The American accused of plotting a "dirty bomb" attack in Washington has launched a legal bid to be released after the US Government said he may never face trial.
Defence lawyers for suspected al-Qaeda operative Abdullah Al Muhajir said his treatment should be a "constitutional concern for everybody".
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Abdullah Al Muhajir
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US authorities claim the New York-born 31-year-old was planning to build a device capable of distributing nuclear waste over a wide area in the American capital.
But Al Muhajir is not eligible for the military tribunals being organised for Camp X-Ray prisoners because he is a US citizen, and authorities have no plans to press criminal charges.
Court-appointed defence lawyer Ms Donna Newman has filed a petition calling for him to be released.
"A person is being detained on information the value of which, the credibility of which, and the reliability of which, we don't know," she said after a hearing in a New York federal court.
"He is being detained without time limit, or the right to counsel."
The government had until Tuesday to press criminal charges against Al Muhajir following his arrest on May 8th as he arrived in Chicago from Pakistan.
Instead the US Justice Department labelled him an "enemy combatant" and transferred him to the Defence Department, which can hold him indefinitely in military custody.
Judge Michael Mukasey said he would consider Ms Newman's motion to have her client released, but it was unclear if the court has any jurisdiction in the case now that Al Muhajir is in the custody of the US military.
PA