ISLAMABAD, July 20: Mohammad Sagheer, a Pakistani who has sent a legal notice to the US government seeking $10.4 million in compensation for his 10-month detention in Guantanamo Bay, on Sunday expressed the hope that he will win the legal battle against the US.

The 52-year-old man from Patan, Kohistan near Karakorum Highway, was released by the US forces in November. His legal notice, served by a senior Supreme Court lawyer Mohammed Ikram Chaudhry on July 9, has sought the US government’s reply within a month.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Sagheer said he had no other option but to sue the American government as his detention had caused immense sufferings to his family besides damaging his sawmill business.

His lawyer told reporters that he had sent the notice to the US Embassy in Islamabad. He said he had also discussed the case with legal experts in the US. “If there’s no compensation, a lawsuit will be filed either in a US or Pakistani court or both,” he added.

Narrating the tale of his miserable condition in detention, Mr Sagheer said he was kept in a solitary confinement and was served alcohol-added drinks in total disregard for his religious belief.

He said he had been arrested by Gen Dostam’s militiamen in Kunduz in Nov 2001 and was shifted to Shiberghan Prison in a container. Later, he added, his American captors flew him to Kandahar airport and then to the Guantanamo Bay.

He said Pakistani officials had promised to pay him $2,000 but, so far, he had received only $100.

While under detention in northern Afghanistan, he was herded into overcrowded prisons and denied food. He said a number of prisoners were buried alive and hundreds others died in US bombardments. He was taken to the Guantanamo Bay in shackles and held there for about 10 months, the notice said. Mr Sagheer said initially he was kept in a solitary confinement and not allowed to pray until a hunger strike by the inmates led to a relaxation of the rules.

He said he was subjected to intensive questioning, almost entirely about Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network.

The notice claimed that for 10 months in the American custody, Mr Sagheer suffered mental shock, financial losses, estrangement as well as physical and religious victimization. He claims $10 million for mental agony and $400,000 for debts incurred by his family and damage to his business.—Junaid Bahadur