Former Guantanamo Inmate Sues US

He spent roughly a year with other suspected al-Qaeda and Taleban operatives in the US military prison.

His lawyers say he is suing for the mental and physical torture he endured at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay.

‘Treated like an animal’

Mr Sagheer filed his suit in an Islamabad court on Tuesday.

Lawyers acting for him said the case could be heard in a Pakistani court because Pakistan’s interior ministry is one of the defendants.

In the first case of its kind, Mr Sagheer described his arrest by American authorities as illegal and his treatment at the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay as extremely inhuman.

He says he was kept for more than a year in a prison cell that was like a cage meant for animals.

During this period he says he was treated in the worst possible manner and was repeatedly interrogated about his links to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

Despite insisting that he no ties to the Islamic militant group, Mr Sagheer says he was punished by the authorities for what they saw as his lack of co-operation.

After being released by the Americans, Mr Sagheer says he was sent back to Pakistan, where he spent a few more days in detention.

The court has decided to hold a preliminary hearing for the case in the third week of December.