Star Metro - West Africans deported by US to Ghana sue over detention

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Ghanaian court on behalf of 11 deportees from Nigeria, Togo, Gambia, Liberia and Mali, said they have been held without charge since their arrival and without proper access to legal representation.

Ghanaian President John Mahama revealed last week his government had struck a deal with the United States to accept deportees from west Africa as the administration of Donald Trump cracks down on immigrants.

Trump has overseen an unprecedented expansion of the practice of deporting people to countries other than their nation of origin -- notably by sending hundreds to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The deportations to Ghana are believed to have started in early September and more are underway -- though Accra has kept details under wraps, including the deportees' exact whereabouts, believed to be a military facility.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, told AFP Friday he is suing for their release, as well as to stop their eventual removal to their home countries.

"They are not charged with violations of any Ghanaian law," Barker-Vormawor said.

"All of these people were seeking asylum in the US, and they've made clear that they were facing persecution -- whether in connection with religious reasons, political, and even on the basis of their sexual orientation."

- Whereabouts disputed -

Announcing that an initial group of 14 deportees had arrived in Ghana, officials said that deportees would be allowed to remain in the country temporarily, per regional visa-free travel rules, or return home.

Officials initially said that all of the initial 14 had returned home.

In fact, three have returned to their country of origin but 11 remain in detention, Barker-Vormawor said.

Barker-Vormawor said he has written to the military but has yet to be allowed to visit.

Four of the detainees are Nigerian, three are Togolese, two are Malian, one is Liberian and one is Gambian.

Ghana's Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Wednesday that 40 more deportees were expected in the coming days.

Ablakwa said the decision to accept the deportees was based on humanitarian concerns and was not an "endorsement" of US immigration policy.

The Ghanaian attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Barker-Vormawor said an unknown number of deportees had arrived Thursday.

According to the lawsuit, the initial 14 deportees arrived sometime around September 6 -- a week before the government made the announcement -- though Barker-Vormawor said the timeline was unclear.

P.Beaulieu--SMC