These charges were dropped in 2003 following a highly critical report by a U.S. federal magistrate who reproved federal prosecutors, the FBI and immigration agents, saying that they had used a "sham" to justify their actions in detaining Benatta, including ignoring legal deadlines designed to protect constitutional rights and providing explanations for their behaviour that "bordered on ridiculousness". "The defendant in this case undeniably was deprived of his liberty," the magistrate, Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. wrote, "and held in custody under harsh conditions which can be said to be oppressive." To detain Benatta longer "would be to join in the charade that has been perpetrated."