Freed Afghan Guantanamo detainee to sue US for mistreatment (Roundup)

Aug 27, 2009, 14:49 GMT

Kabul - An Afghan detainee who was released from the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, earlier this week plans to sue the US government for compensation because of mistreatment, his lawyer said Thursday.

'The mistake has already been made, and I don't think that the American government could really resolve that in his favour,' lawyer Eric Montalvo told a press conference.

'So the way forward right now is to avail the Afghanistan government and the US government of funding to help train him and get him back to normalcy,' he said.

Mohammed Jawad, who is believed to be in his early 20s, was released after nearly seven years in custody. He was captured in Kabul in 2002 on suspicion of throwing a hand grenade at US military vehicle in downtown Kabul, wounding two US soldiers and their Afghan interpreter.

'I am very happy that after seven years I am free and I could join my family,' said Jawad, who also participated in the press conference.

When asked about the mistreatment during the detention, Jawad said, 'I am not ready to answer your questions. My health is not good, I am under treatment.'

Montalvo, who met Jawad in Guantanamo in August 2008 and helped obtain his release, said it was unacceptable to deprive an innocent individual from freedom for seven years and then 'not give him any compensation.'

'There is no difference between being confined in Guantanamo Bay or being left out in the wild without assistance,' he added.

President Hamid Karzai welcomed Jawad's release and asked government authorities to assist him and his family. He also received Jawad in the presidential palace, Karzai's office said.

A US federal judge ordered the Justice Department to release him last month and the government was given until Monday to respond. Jawad was flown by a US military plane to Kabul, where he joined his mother, the only surviving member of his family.

Jawad is the latest prisoner to leave the controversial facility, which President Barack Obama has directed be closed by the end of the year. More than 200 detainees remain incarcerated there.

'It has been difficult road to go upon, but there is some hope here,' Montalvo said, adding 'The Obama Administration has recognized that there are errors, there are problems and they have decided to correct one of these problems, but unfortunately it took way too long and it is totally unsatisfactory.'

Hundreds of Afghans, who were detained by US forces on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities in the eight years since the fall of the Taliban regime, are being held in detention in Bagram, the main US military base north of Kabul.