R. Kelly filed a lawsuit against the Brooklyn jail where he has been incarcerated since his conviction for racketeering and sex offenses on Friday, claiming the facility placed him on suicide watch after he received a 30-year prison sentence despite knowing he was not suicidal.

The 55-year-old multiplatinum R&B singer alleged in a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court that officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center ordered the watch following his June 29 sentencing "solely for punitive purposes" and because he was a "high-profile" inmate.

Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly's attorney, cited a prosecutor claiming that the jail's legal counsel informed her that "per the psychology department, [Kelly] is on a psych alert for various reasons, such as age, crime, publicity and publicity, and sentencing." No schedule was supplied.

Bonjean did not find the explanation satisfactory. She wrote, "Simply put, MDC Brooklyn is run like a gulag,"

Kelly stated that the "harsh conditions" he endured resulted in "severe mental distress" and constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Kelly is seeking specific compensation and punitive damages, but the court documents indicate he is seeking $100 million.

The prison did not react immediately to calls for comment.

Kelly, whose song "I Believe I Can Fly," won a Grammy in 1996, was convicted in September of racketeering and eight counts of breaking the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting persons across state lines for prostitution.

Prosecutors alleged that Kelly used his fame and money to attract women and young girls into his orbit for sex over two decades, with the assistance of his entourage.

Kelly stated that he was placed on suicide watch following his conviction.

Another Brooklyn jail inmate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was placed on suicide watch on June 24, four days before being sentenced to twenty years in prison for assisting financier Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of teenage females.

Although she was not suicidal, according to Maxwell's attorney, the British socialite was given a "suicide smock" and denied clothing, toothpaste, and soap.

The documents filed on Friday did not specify the particular conditions Kelly faced.

Kelly faced a federal trial in August in Chicago on allegations of child pornography and obstruction and many state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.