SPRINGFIELD -- A Samoan diplomat says federal immigration officials violated his constitutional rights when they charged him in Missouri last year with falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. Hans Joachim Keil is an associate minister of Western Samoa who holds dual citizenship in the two countries.

In a lawsuit filed here last week in federal court, Keil says he suffered emotional and mental duress when he was jailed for nine days in September 2008 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. His detention prompted a protest from the Samoan government, which called the citizenship question a misunderstanding.

The charges were dismissed in December after it was determined that Keil, who is a U.S. Air Force veteran, is a U.S. citizen.