Joshua Riibe's return to the U.S. remains unclear as there was no immediate decision about returning his passport, which authorities confiscated last week.

A man who investigators believe was the last person to see missing US college student Sudiksha Konanki alive appeared in a Dominican Republic court Tuesday to ask it to grant him freedom, arguing Dominican authorities have inappropriately restricted his movements without charges after the 20-year-old woman’s disappearance.

Joshua Steven Riibe, a 22-year-old Iowa resident and a student at St Cloud State University in Minnesota, said that the authorities detained him without any formal charges, adding he was treated unfairly during the investigation.