Deportees to Equatorial Guinea Arrested, Beaten, Lawyers Say

Two men deported from the United States to Equatorial Guinea were arbitrarily arrested, their lawyers and rights groups reported Friday. The men were allegedly subjected to violence including having bags placed over their heads, being beaten, and held at gunpoint.

Ahmed Soliman, an Egyptian national, and Samson Birhane from Eritrea are among more than 40 individuals deported by the U.S. to Equatorial Guinea, a Central African nation. Lawyers stated they believe the arrests were in retaliation for the men speaking out about their detention conditions and the violence they experienced.

Soliman and Birhane are being held at the Bamy Hotel on the outskirts of Malabo. This hotel has been converted into a detention facility for asylum seekers sent from the U.S. under a $7.5 million agreement with the Trump administration. The Associated Press previously gained exclusive access to the hotel.

The Trump administration utilized deportations to third countries as a strategy to deter immigration, enacting various obscure agreements. Under these arrangements, thousands of individuals were deported to countries other than their own.

While U.S. judges had previously protected most of those sent to Equatorial Guinea from repatriation to their home countries, at least 12 individuals, including four Ethiopians earlier in September, have been returned to their countries of origin, according to their lawyers.

Detainees at the hotel have reported facing violence from authorities. Isabella Mosselmans, director of Global Litigation Council, a coalition representing the detained individuals, noted an escalation in police violence over recent months. She stated that on July 31, masked police officers entered rooms, forcibly handled five individuals, and threatened them at gunpoint.

Lawyers for Soliman and Birhane reported that authorities attempted to coerce the men into agreeing to return to their home countries and to confiscate their phones. Videos circulating in international media reportedly show Soliman protesting mistreatment and a police officer holding him at gunpoint within the hotel.

Soliman and Birhane were arrested on September 11, reportedly accused of breaking a mirror. Their lawyers claim officers later returned them to the hotel with bags over their heads and beat them in the presence of other detainees. The lawyers have been unable to contact Soliman and Birhane since they were taken to the La Luna police station. Both men had resided in the U.S. for decades prior to their deportation.

Amnesty International indicated that police officers may have targeted Soliman and Birhane in reprisal for reporting threats aimed at forcing them to agree to return to their native countries. The organization stated that the men are now held in inhumane conditions in an overcrowded police cell, unable to communicate with their legal counsel.

Equatorial Guinea, despite being one of Africa's wealthiest nations due to its oil resources, is described by U.S. officials as a country afflicted by corruption and human rights abuses. Rights groups and the U.S. State Department have documented accusations against the government for detaining, torturing, and killing individuals who express dissent. U.S. companies are significant foreign investors in the country, and its military receives U.S. funding for training.