Muslim man claims he was viciously attacked in jail and put in solitary over his religion

A Muslim man is suing St. Charles County, Missouri for multiple alleged civil rights violations stemming from his 10-month stint in a local jail, reports St. Louis Today.

Ali Qandah claims that during his jail sentence, he was beaten by another inmate with the help of jail officers. He also says he was kept in solitary confinement for 8 months because he was Muslim. Multiple international bodies consider solitary confinement a form of torture.

"It's like death, but you're still breathing,” he recalled about his experience in solitary.

His case for religious discrimination is bolstered by revelations that a jail guard who he claims let a violent inmate into his cell, had posted “Islamophobic and xenophobic images to his Facebook page,” according to a complaint by Qandah.

“They treat people there like animals,” his lawyer said of the St. Charles County Jail. “The people who are doing it are openly racist and the county doesn't care.”