Washington: In what could be a major embarrassment for Bush administration, four former British detainees of the US Guantanamo Bay 'detention camp for accused terrorists' filed a lawsuit today (Oct 28, 2004) seeking damages from Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top officials for torture and abuse, their lawyers announced.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which represents many detainees at the US naval base in Cuba, filed suit today along with a Washington-based law firm on behalf of Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed and Jamal Al-Harith, the lawyers said.

Each is seeking $ 10 million in damages for alleged torture, abuse and other Human Rights violations in a Washington DC district court.

They want "damages for torture and other Human Rights violations stemming from their arbitrary detention on the island prison camp until March 2003," said the suit.

In addition to Rumsfeld, the lawsuit names Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Geoffrey Miller, former commander of the detention camp; and other current and former military officials at Guantanamo.

US military authorities have denied that inmates were tortured at Guantanamo.