Amnesty International wants help for deportees

Rights group says Eswatini must give five men sent there access to lawyers.

- By GERALD IMRAY

LAWYERS for five men sent to Eswatini said they are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex.

Amnesty International on Friday called for authorities in the African nation of Eswatini to give five men deported there by the United States access to lawyers and explain why they've been held in a maximum-security prison for two months without charges.

The men — from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen — were sent in mid-July to the southern African nation with a reputation for rights abuses as part of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program.

The U.S. has said it also wants to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini. His wrongful deportation to his native El Salvador has become a flash point in the administration's immigration crackdown.

Lawyers for the five men sent to Eswatini said they are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, a maximum-security prison. Eswatini authorities have declined to say where they are, citing security reasons.