JURIST - Paper Chase: Ex-Guantanamo detainee Jawad to sue US government over alleged mistreatment

[JURIST] The lawyer for former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Mohammed Jawad [ACLU materials; JURIST news archive] said Thursday that the Afghan citizen will sue the US government for compensation for mistreatment. Jawad, who was detained in 2002 under suspicion of throwing a grenade at US forces in Afghanistan, alleges continuous, widespread mistreatment [Al-Jazeera report] including that US soldiers made insults towards Islam and behaved in an "inhumane way." Jawad's military lawyer Major Eric Montalvo said in an interview with Al-Jazeera English that he "had concern and disgust with things taking a protracted period of time," but stopped short of calling for the prosecution of those soldiers responsible for the alleged mistreatment. Montalvo indicated he would help [AP report] Jawad's legal team, though the timetable for the suit and his exact role are not clear.

Earlier this week, Jawad was repatriated to Afghanistan [JURIST report], one month after a US district judge ordered he be released from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The same judge had previously suppressed all out of court statements [JURIST report] made by Jawad that may have been obtained through torture. In May, Jawad's military lawyers asked the Supreme Court of Afghanistan [JURIST report] to demand Jawad's return from the facility after President Barack Obama's announcement that Guantanamo Bay will be closed caused yet another delay in the trial.