Once eleven people who were deported from the United States and detained in Ghana have sued the government of that West African country, their lawyer told the BBC.
Oliver-Barker Vormawor stated that the deportees had not broken any law of Ghana, so their detention in a military camp was illegal. The lawyer added that he wants the government to present the group in court and justify why they are being held against their will.
The government has not yet commented on the lawsuit, but had previously said it plans to accept another 40 deportees. Opposition MPs are demanding the immediate suspension of the deportation agreement until Parliament approves it, saying this is required by Ghanaian law.
Last week, Ghana’s President, John Mahama, announced that 14 deportees of West African origin had arrived in the country under an agreement with the US.
He later said that all of them had been returned to their countries of origin, although the Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, contradicted him by saying that only most were sent back. The court filing by Mr. Vormawor contradicts both, stating that 11 deportees are still detained in Ghana.
According to the documents presented in court, the eleven were held in a U.S. detention center before being shackled and deported on a military cargo plane.
The deportations are part of the hard-line policy on immigration from the US government since President Donald Trump took office in January. He has promised to carry out a record number of deportations of migrants in the country illegally.
Ghana’s foreign minister said on Monday, according to the Reuters news agency, that the decision to accept the deportees was based on “humanitarian principles and pan-African empathy.”
He added: “This should not be interpretated as an endorsement of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.”
Five of the detainees, three Nigerians and two Gambians, have also sued the United States government, arguing that they were protected by a court order and should not have been deported.