Amnesty International calls for action on U.S. deportees held in Eswatini

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Amnesty International on Friday called for authorities in the African nation of Eswatini to give five men deported there by the United States access to lawyers and explain why they’ve been held in a maximum-security prison for two months without charges.

The men — from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen — were sent in mid-July to the southern African nation with a reputation for rights abuses as part of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program.

The U.S. has said it also wants to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini. His wrongful deportation to his native El Salvador has become a flashpoint in the administration’s immigration crackdown.

Lawyers for the five men sent to Eswatini said they are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Centre, a maximum-security prison. Eswatini authorities have declined to say where they are, citing security reasons.

“The Eswatini authorities must officially disclose the five men’s whereabouts, immediately grant them regular and confidential access to their lawyers, and provide legal grounds for their detention,” the inmternational rights organization said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the five were all serious criminals who had been convicted of offenses including murder and child rape, and had all been in the U.S. illegally and had deportation orders.

Their lawyers say they had served their criminal sentences in the U.S. before being sent to Eswatini to be held in a prison without charges. The men are being represented by three separate U.S.-based lawyers.

The U.S. has sent deportees to at least four African countries since July under President Trump’s hard-line approach to immigration, including South Sudan, Eswatini, Rwanda and Ghana. It has an agreement to deport migrants to another nation, Uganda, although no deportations there have been announced.

The Trump administration’s deportation program has faced accusations that it is sending deportees to third countries where they have no ties and where they are likely to be denied due process. Homeland Security has said the U.S. is “using every tool available to get criminal illegal aliens out of American communities and out of our country.”

Eleven West Africans deported this month from the U.S. to Ghana are suing the Ghanaian government, alleging they were illegally detained at a military camp, according to court documents.

The Ghanaian government said that a total of 14 deportees who had arrived on its territory had all been sent to their home countries, but lawyers for the deportees disputed that and said 11 are being held in terrible conditions at the military camp. Homeland Security said “many” of those deportees sent to Ghana had criminal records.

U.S. authorities have directed questions over the treatment of migrants deported to Africa to African authorities.

Eswatini’s government spokesperson declined to comment Friday. When the men arrived two months ago, Eswatini’s government said they were in transit and would be sent to their home countries.

A court case in Eswatini challenging authorities over the deportees being denied access to lawyers has been repeatedly delayed. A separate case by Eswatini advocacy groups accusing authorities of illegally detaining the five men has also been filed and a hearing is scheduled next week.

Eswatini is one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. King Mswati III rules supreme and political parties are effectively banned. Authorities are accused of repressing pro-democracy movements to protect Mswati’s position.

Authorities in South Sudan and Rwanda, two other countries accused of having repressive governments, have also declined to give details on where deportees sent there by the U.S. are being held. This month, South Sudan repatriated one of the deportees, a Mexican man, after he was held in South Sudan for two months.

Imray writes for the Associated Press.