In brief
Eleven deportees from the US, currently held in Ghana, have filed a lawsuit against the country's government alleging their detention is illegal under Ghanaian law. Their lawyer, Oliver-Barker Vormawor, stated that the detainees have not committed any offenses. The government's previous announcement of accepting additional deportees has sparked widespread criticism, with opposition MPs calling for the immediate suspension of the deportation deal until it is ratified by parliament. This controversy highlights the complexities of international deportation agreements amid ongoing debates over immigration policies.
Eleven people detained in Ghana after being deported from the US have sued the West African nation's government, their lawyer has told the BBC.
Oliver-Barker Vormawor said the deportees had not violated any Ghanaian law, and their detention in a military camp was therefore illegal.
He wanted the government to produce the group in court, and justify why they were being held against their will, the lawyer added.
The government has not yet commented on the lawsuit, but has previously stated that it plans to accept another 40 deportees. Opposition MPs are demanding the immediate suspension of the deportation deal until parliament ratifies it, citing a requirement under Ghanaian law.
Last week, Ghana's President John Mahama noted that 14 deportees of West African origin had arrived in the country following a deal with the US.
He later claimed that all of them were returned to their countries of origin, however, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa contradicted him, stating that only most of the deportees had been sent back.
Mr. Vormawor's court application contradicts both officials, asserting that 11 deportees remain in detention in Ghana.
The group was held in a US detention facility before being shackled and transported via military aircraft.
These deportations are part of the US government's stringent immigration policies that have intensified since the administration of former President Donald Trump, who aimed for record-level deportations.
Ghana's foreign minister clarified that the nation's acceptance of deportees was based on 'humanitarian principles and pan-African empathy', and emphasized that it should not be viewed as an endorsement of the Trump administration's immigration policies.
In a related legal action, five of the detainees, three Nigerians and two Gambians, have also sued the US government, claiming they were protected by a court order from deportation.
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