Eswatini’s supreme court has ruled that four men deported by the US and detained in a maximum-security prison must be allowed to see a local lawyer. The men had been denied in-person legal counsel for nine months while held in the southern African country.
The four men were sent to Eswatini in July by the Trump administration as part of its efforts to step up deportations. They are from Cambodia, Cuba, Vietnam and Yemen.
According to the ruling, the men have the right to meet with legal counsel in person. The case draws attention to the conditions facing deportees held outside the US in countries where they have no known connection.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a small landlocked country in southern Africa. The men were sent there despite having no connection to the country.
The court decision comes after a prolonged period during which the men were held without in-person access to a lawyer. Their detention in a maximum-security prison and the lack of legal access for nine months formed the basis of the dispute before the supreme court.
The ruling marks a significant development in a case tied to the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. It confirms that, even while detained in Eswatini, the men are entitled to local legal representation.
The four men remain at the center of a broader debate over deportations, detention, and the treatment of people sent to third countries with no prior ties to them. The court’s decision sets out a basic legal right to counsel after months of restricted access.
