ISTANBUL

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil filed a $20 million claim Thursday against the administration of US President Donald Trump, outlining the damages he endured due to "his politically motivated arrest and detention," according to a statement by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights.

“This is the first step towards accountability. Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss.

"But let’s be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza," the statement cited Khalil as saying.

“There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power,” Khalil added.

It marked the first damages complaint brought by an individual targeted as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizens protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the statement highlighted.

Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student, was arrested on March 8 in New York City and later transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in the southern state of Louisiana.

Though he has not been accused of a crime, the Trump administration has argued that if Khalil is not deported, he could undermine foreign policy goals regarding fighting antisemitism.

Khalil was released on bail on June 20 after a federal judge ruled that the law used to detain him was likely unconstitutional.