Eswatini court determines that the initial Trump deportees in custody are entitled to legal representation

A court in Eswatini has determined that the initial five migrants transferred by the Trump administration to the African kingdom are entitled to legal representation, following their denial of a lawyer during their transfer from the U.S. to a Swazi jail in July.

The court dismissed a government claim that the detainees had not explicitly asked for the human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi to represent them. Nhlabatsi has been attempting to address the migrants’ case without being able to reach them.

“There can be no real harm in granting the Respondent access to the detainees,” the three judges stated in a decision reviewed by Reuters. “If they do not wish to see the Respondent, they can communicate their feelings directly to him,” they added.

The detainees are part of at least 19 third-country migrants from different regions, including Africa, Asia, and the Americas, who were deported to Eswatini by Trump’s administration as a component of its immigration enforcement efforts. Other nations have similarly welcomed migrants who have been deported from the U.S. The judgment pertains solely to the initial five arrivals, given that the challenge was originally initiated on their behalf, though it may establish a precedent for the remaining individuals. Eswatini, an absolute monarchy ruled by King Mswati III, has released only two detainees so far: a Jamaican man last year and a Cambodian individual last month.

Lawyers in Eswatini and the U.S. have raised concerns about the legality of the $5.1 million deal between the two countries, which has led to the incarceration of deportees in the southern African nation, even though they have already completed their sentences for crimes committed on U.S. soil.

Last month, the high court dismissed a case brought by a local human rights lawyer that contested the deal, although the lawyer has since filed an appeal.