An Ecuadorean national who is a transgender man and and sought asylum in the United States has sued the U.S government for damages after he was held in solitary confinement for six months because of his gender identity before being deported.

Plaintiff “C.O.” suffered a nervous breakdown and was in a catatonic state when he was finally transferred out of isolation and the Immigration and Customs Service’s Irwin County facility in Ocilla, Georgia, said attorney Michal Begnaud.