For more than two months, the U.S. military has held an American citizen in detention in Iraq. Officials allege that the man fought alongside the Islamic State in Syria – but other than that, the Pentagon has provided little information about him.

The man reportedly surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces on Sept. 12 and was transferred to U.S. custody soon afterward. The Pentagon then fell silent on the matter for weeks, though it announced in October that the International Committee of the Red Cross had met with the detainee on Sept. 29. Now, reporting suggests that this silence may be a result of debate within the government as to how to handle the case.

According to the New York Times and The Post, officials first interrogated the citizen without advising him of his rights, then restarted the questioning with a new team of interrogators after reading him the Miranda warning — a process that allows the government to gather information to prevent terrorist attacks before taking on the separate work of building a criminal case. Yet the citizen has said nothing since being advised of his right to remain silent. And without his confession, the Justice Department is reportedly worried that the evidence against him would not be admissible in court if he were to return to the United States for a criminal trial.

It’s not clear if the government is considering transferring the detainee to Iraqi custody — a dicey proposition, given the possibility that he could be tortured. Alternately, because the man reportedly has citizenship in a second country, the Pentagon might reach a deal to return him to that government. But if the United States chooses to keep him in military detention, it risks a bruising legal fight. While the government has previously detained American citizens over the course of military efforts against terrorism, the legal authorization in question has never been tested in court as it applies to the Islamic State.

The Post writes that the man requested a lawyer, but it’s not clear whether he has been allowed to meet with one. In the meantime, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed legal documents to ensure that he is granted his constitutional right to contest his detention in court. The Pentagon now argues that the ACLU can’t represent the detainee without his approval or that of his family.

To be sure, there are good reasons that courts usually don’t allow people to file lawsuits without having a stake in the matter. But it can’t be the case that the government is effectively allowed to block the courts from reviewing a person’s detention by keeping the prisoner anonymous and incommunicado.

While the government may have legitimate reasons not to identify the man or swiftly bring him to the United States for trial, at the very least it must provide him with legal counsel and access to the justice system if he wishes it. And it is past time that the Pentagon makes public basic information about his case in the spirit of accountability and transparency.

Editorial by The Washington Post