The veteran's identity is withheld in court filings, but he worked for a U.S. contracting company as a translator for the Marines in the volatile Anbar province.
The government says he was suspected of helping get classified information to the enemy and helping anti-coalition forces get into Iraq. But he was never charged with a crime. He says he never broke the law but was abused while imprisoned at a military facility in Baghdad for nine months.
U.S. District Judge James Gwin ruled that Americans have the right to constitutional protections whether at home or abroad.