Eswatini Supreme Court says U.S.-deported detainees can meet with a local lawyer
The Facts
- Eswatini's Supreme Court ruled that the U.S.-deported detainees in the case have the right to meet with a local lawyer.
- The detainees at the center of the case were sent from the United States to Eswatini in July under a third-country deportation program.
- The men had been denied in-person legal access for about nine months while being held in Eswatini.
- A lower court had already ruled that lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi could meet the detainees, and the Eswatini government appealed that decision.
- The court rejected the government's argument that the detainees had not specifically requested Nhlabatsi as their lawyer.
- The ruling applies to the first group of five deportees sent to Eswatini, though one of those men has since been returned to Jamaica, leaving four still detained in this case.
- Eswatini has taken in 19 men from the United States as part of this third-country deportation arrangement.
Context
Who are the detainees involved in this ruling?
The case concerns the first group of five migrants deported by the United States to Eswatini in July under the third-country program; one has since been returned to Jamaica, leaving four men still detained Reuters,IOL,Court House News Se….
Why was the case before Eswatini's Supreme Court?
A lower court had allowed local human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi to meet the detainees, but the Eswatini government appealed, arguing among other things that the men had not specifically asked for him and were not entitled to such access Owensboro Messenger…,Reuters,Face2Face Africa.
Why does this ruling matter beyond these four detainees?
The judgment concerns the first group deported to Eswatini and comes amid a wider U.S. third-country deportation arrangement under which Eswatini has accepted 19 men; multiple reports say the decision could influence similar cases involving others held there Devdiscourse,Reuters,Court House News Se….
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