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A Cuba A man deported by the United States to the African country of Eswatini is on hunger strike in a maximum-security prison, having been held there for more than three months without charge or legal counsel under the Trump administration’s Third Country Program, his US-based lawyer said on Wednesday.
Roberto Mosquera del Peral was one of five people deported to the small southern African state in mid-July as part of an expanded U.S. deportation program to Africa that has drawn criticism from rights groups and lawyers who say deportees are being denied due process and face rights abuses.
Mosquera’s lawyer, Alma davidA statement sent to The Associated Press said he had been on hunger strike for a week and there were serious concerns about his health.
“My client has been arbitrarily detained and now his life is in danger,” David said. “I urge the Eswatini Correctional Services to provide Mr. Mosquera’s family and me with immediate information about his condition and to ensure that he is receiving adequate medical assistance. I demand that Mr. Mosquera be allowed to meet with his lawyer in Eswatini.”
Mosquera was among a group of five people from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen who were deported to Eswatini, an absolute monarchy ruled by a king who is accused of curbing human rights. The Jamaican man was deported back to his home country last month, but others have been jailed for more than three months, while an Eswatini lawyer has launched a case against the government demanding he be given access to legal advice.
Citizen groups in Eswatini have also taken authorities to court to challenge the legality of detaining foreign nationals without charge. Eswatini said people would be repatriated but gave no timeframe for any further returns.
US officials said they wanted to deport Kilmer Abrego Garcia to Eswatini under the same program.
The US Department of Homeland Security said those sent to Eswatini were criminals convicted of serious crimes, including murder and rape, and were in the US illegally. It said Mosquera had been convicted of murder and other charges and was a gang member.
Lawyers for the men said they have all completed their criminal sentences in the US, but are now being held illegally in Eswatini, where they have not been charged with any crimes.
The Department of Homeland Security has adopted the Third Country Deportation Program as a means of removing “illegal aliens” from US soil as part of Pres. donald trumpImmigration proceedings state that they have the option of self-deportation or being deported to a country such as Eswatini.
The Trump administration has deported people to at least three other African countries since July under largely secret agreements: South Sudan, Rwanda and Ghana. It also has a deportation agreement with Uganda, although no deportations have been announced there.
international rights group Human Rights Watch She said she has seen documents that show the US is paying millions of dollars to African countries to accept deportees. It said the US agreed to pay Eswatini $5.1 million to take 160 deportees and Rwanda $7.5 million to take 250 deportees.
The other 10 deportees were flown to Eswatini this month and are believed to be held at the same Matsapha Correctional Complex prison outside the administrative capital Mbabane. The lawyers said they were from Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Cuba, Chad, Ethiopia and Congo.
The four men, who arrived in Eswatini on a deportation flight in July, have not been allowed to meet with an Eswatini lawyer serving as their legal adviser there, and phone calls to their US-based lawyers are monitored by prison guards, lawyers say. They have expressed concerns that they know little about the conditions in which their clients are being held.
“I demand that Mr. Mosquera be allowed to meet with his lawyer in Eswatini,” David said in his statement. “The fact that my client has been motivated to take such drastic action requires that he and 13 other people be released from prison. The United States and the governments of Eswatini must take responsibility for the real humanitarian consequences of their dealings.”
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More AP news on people deported to Eswatini: https://apnews.com/hub/esmatini