Judge makes major decision in case of American last seen with missing spring breaker Sudiksha Konanki

American student Joshua Riibe is no longer under police watch but his nightmare is not over yet and he could be stuck in the Dominician Republic for at least another 10 days.

The college student, 22, who is being held under de facto house arrest as authorities probe the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, made an audacious bid for freedom in  court on Tuesday when his attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus.

The filing served as an ultimatum to Dominican Authorities: charge me with something or let me go home. 

Riibe is not a suspect in Konanki's disappearance. Her parents have accepted the conclusion offered by authorities that she likely drowned, and all parties say Riibe has been cooperative as the last known witness to see her alive. 

While Higuey court Magistrate Edwis Rijo Delgado granted his habeas petition in a partial court win and demanded he be allowed to move freely, he has not yet been given the green light to return home to America.

'If he is a witness, we understand that each and every one of his rights must be respected,' Magistrate Delgado said.

'All parties say he has cooperated with everything that has been asked of him. If he is a witness, he can cooperate without having to be taken into custody.'

The judge said Riibe should be free to 'live his normal life', adding: 'The law is the law.'

Magistrate Delgado said he will reveal full details of his ruling in 10 days during a March 28 hearing, but it is unclear if Riibe will have to remain in the Dominican Republic until that date. 

But he warned the matter of returning Riibe's passport was not appropriate for his courtroom, and Dominican prosecutor Eduardo Velázquez sensationally revealed he is not responsible for returning the passport either.

'I don't know about the passport,' he told reporters outside the courtroom. When asked to elaborate, he said: 'I don't speak English.'

It is unclear where Riibe's passport is, which agency is in possession of it or how he goes about reclaiming it. 

Konanki's grieving parents on Sunday said they now believe it's likely their daughter died by drowning and that Riibe was not involved in her death. 

'Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning,' her father Subbarayudu Konanki told The New York Post. 

'It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,' he said. 'This is incredibly difficult for us to process.' 

They have since asked that Riibe be allowed to leave the island country and return back to home.  

Riibe claims he has spoken with Konanki's devastated mother, revealing in court on Tuesday she hugged and thanked him for dragging her daughter from the ocean prior to her baffling disappearance.

'Before the family of Sudiksha left the hotel they came up and they gave me hugs and the mother even said thank you very much for helping save my daughter the first time.

'I'm just doing what I can but at this point there is nothing more I can do.. I'm ready to go home and go back to my life,' he said, with surprising composure.

Riibe said he was stripped of his passport and his phone on Saturday March 8, two days after Sudiksha, 20, vanished.

He wanted to go home the following day but has instead spent barely an hour outside of the Riu Republica resort in the past 12 days.

'Ever since the day I lost my phone and passport I have been solemnly alone' he said.

There were tense scenes in the courtroom Tuesday as Riibe's lawyers argued with state prosecutors about the technicalities of his situation.

Micenis Beatriz Santana Hernández, Riibe's lawyer, had summed up by casting her client as a ‘victim’ as she implored the judge to restore his liberty.

She told the court the father and son were not free to come to her house that evening for dinner, adding: ‘That is not freedom.’

The college senior said he was shadowed by police minders who watched his every move, watched him eating his lunch and, on one occasion, 'got angry' when he asked if he could go.

He said he and his father notified investigators that they had a meeting at the American embassy but they were forced to wait for hours because the prospect of them leaving the hotel 'freaked out' his minders.

'The main thing is that we can't leave our room because in the morning they come and get us for interviews and we have no method of communication. They expect us to wait in the room until we are summoned,' Riibe told the judge.

'I can't go anywhere. I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs and say that I miss them.'

Mike Riibe also took the stand saying he had flown to Punta Cana to 'be with my son during this time.'

Asked when he was planning on returning to Iowa, he replied: 'When my son is allowed to return to the United States.'

'He can go to the beach, he can go to the bar, he can come to court,' scoffed prosecutor Eduardo Velasquez.

'It's false, it's false. He walked into court without shackles.'

Santana Hernández countered that it was absurd to claim the scruffy, unshaven vacationer was free to go when authorities had his passport.

She said he had been collaborating for the past 11 days and given multiple interviews.

'He isn't being treated like a normal witness. Given his high profile, he doesn't have the ability to leave the resort with guarantees for his safety,' she insisted.

The lawyer also asked why what appeared to be a mugshot of Riibe had been leaked to the Dominican media.

Riibe has spent the past 12 days holed up in a quiet corner of the sprawling Riu Republica mega resort, a virtual prisoner in paradise, only leaving his room for round after round of interviews.

The senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, was seen on hotel CCTV with his arm draped around Sudiksha as they headed to the resort's beach around 4am on March 6. 

The cameras spotted him walking back alone at 9:55am. Sudiksha's five friends she was vacationing with reported her missing at around 4pm.

Earlier, DailyMail.com reported that Sudiksha's grieving parents had asked Dominican authorities to formally declare that she is dead.

A source with direct knowledge of the investigation told DailyMail.com on Monday that Sudiksha's family has accepted the 'deeply painful' reality that she won't be found alive, 11 days after she vanished in the early hours of March 6 while on spring break in Punta Cana.

Her disappearance sparked an intense multi-agency search, despite authorities warning early on that she'd likely tragically drowned in the rough surf.

Parents Subbarayudu and SreeDevi have submitted a formal written request to the National Police for a 'legal declaration of death.'

'Following an extensive search, Dominican authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned. Her clothes were discovered on a beach near where she was last seen,' the letter states.

'While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.'