US citizen alleges he is being held in Türkiye at Washington’s request

Lawyers for an American citizen who was recently released from an Iraqi prison after serving a terrorism-related sentence have alleged that their client has been detained in Türkiye at the request of the US government.

According to POLITICO, attorneys for Shawki Ahmad Sharif Omar, who was born in Kuwait and became a US citizen in the 1980s, filed a petition in federal court in Washington on Tuesday.

The petition alleges that the US government worked with Turkish authorities to prevent Omar from re-entering the United States.

Omar is being held at a deportation center in Türkiye, but his lawyers argue that he is effectively being held in the “constructive custody” of the US government. They have asked a federal judge to order his release and return to the United States.

The case has been assigned to US District Judge John Bates, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.

Omar, who is also a Jordanian citizen, was captured by US forces in Iraq in 2004 on allegations that he had assisted Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, then the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Omar drew international attention after describing the abuse and torture he said he suffered while in US military custody.

After US authorities transferred him to Iraqi custody in 2011, he was convicted of immigration-related offenses and, several years later, of terrorism charges. He remained imprisoned on those charges until April this year.

Evidence submitted by the US government during a 2008 Supreme Court case portrayed Omar as a key intermediary for Zarqawi’s organization who “facilitated the group’s connections with other terrorist organizations, brought foreign fighters into Iraq, and planned and carried out kidnappings.”

Omar and his lawyers have argued that the US evidence supporting those allegations was weak and was never substantiated.

They have also maintained that the proceedings against him in Iraq were unfair and that he was denied the right to a fair trial. His case has attracted international attention for years.

According to his attorneys, Omar was issued a temporary US passport after being released from Iraqi custody in April, but was nevertheless placed on a no-fly list, preventing him from traveling to the United States to reunite with his wife and children, who are US citizens.

The allegation that Turkish authorities are holding Omar at Washington’s request raises new questions about the US government’s legal authority to work with foreign governments to advance its border security and immigration objectives.

It would be highly unusual for the United States to ask another country to detain a US citizen in order to prevent that individual from re-entering the country, regardless of the person’s criminal record.

According to the petition, Turkish authorities detained Omar and transferred him to a deportation center. It states that he has been held at an undisclosed facility for the past week.

The filing further alleges that Turkish officials told Omar they were acting at the request of US authorities.

The complaint also includes correspondence with US State Department officials acknowledging Omar’s detention and stating that they were working with their Turkish counterparts to verify his status.

“The government cannot claim that it lacks control over petitioner’s detention after actively exercising its authority to intervene on his behalf,” Omar’s lawyers wrote.

The attorneys also argued that Omar faces “the risk of deportation to a country where he is likely to face torture, including Jordan.”

“Jordan is a country where members of Omar’s family have been questioned about his whereabouts and activities. Moreover, given that he was previously transferred there by US authorities and subjected to torture, he also faces the risk of being tortured in Türkiye at the request of the United States,” the lawyers said.