Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian who tried to blow off a plane with a bomb hidden in his underwear on Christmas day in 2009, has sued the United States Justice Department for denying him free speech and religious rights.
The planned bombing was to be carried out on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
His bomb caused a fire on the Northwest Airlines flight, but he was overpowered by passengers before he could do anything.
289 people were on board the flight.
He is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.
In the suit filed in a Colorado federal court, Abdulmutallab accused the prisons authorities of violating his constitutional rights.
According to him, he was not allowed to communicate with the outside world or practise his religion as a Muslim.
Also, he challenged being held in long-term solitary confinement.
He said he was repeatedly forcefully fed during a period of hunger strike.
The lawsuit also alleged that white supremacist inmates were permitted to harass him during prayer times.
“Prisoners retain fundamental constitutional rights to communicate with others and have family relationships free from undue interference by the government,” Abdulmatallab lawyer, Gail Johnson, said in a statement to the New York Times.
Abdulmutallab was trained at an al Qaeda camp in Yemen under the direction of U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the Justice department said.
