A Democratic Republic of Congo national who was detained in connection with the murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher is asking the state for 516,000 euros in damages, his lawyer confirmed Tuesday.
Diya 'Patrick' Lumumba, 38, was arrested on November 6, 2007 on testimony from another suspect, Kercher's 21-year-old American flatmate Amanda Knox, who fingered the pub operator and musician as the killer.
He was released after 15 days in jail after an alibi confirmed he had been working in his city-centre pub on the night Kercher was killed and police failed to find any forensic evidence linking him with the crime scene.
Knox, who had worked as a member of Lumumba's bar staff, later withdrew her testimony.
Lumumba's lawyer Carlo Pacelli said Tuesday that his client was currently unemployed after economic difficulties forced him to shut the pub, which was also closed by police during the first phase of the murder investigation.
Lumumba, a married father of one, also claimed to have suffered psychological consequences from his arrest.
''He is asking for damages for the consequences the unjust detention has had on his family, social and economic situations,'' he said.
A Perugia appeals court is due to examine the case on Wednesday.
Lumumba is also suing Knox for defamation as part of the main murder trial but has not specified damages.
Knox and her 24-year-old Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are currently on trial for the murder.
Kercher, 21, was found semi-naked and with her throat slashed on November 2, 2007 in the house she shared with Seattle-born Knox and two other Italian women in Perugia.
In October a third defendant, 21-year-old Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years for sexually assaulting and murdering the British exchange student.
The prosecution claims Kercher was killed when all three suspects tried to force her to participate in ''a perverse group sex game''.
The defendants deny the charges.
