Coalition Raises Alarm Over Arrests, Escalating Violence and Loss of Contact with U.S.-Deported Detainees in Equatorial Guinea
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2026
CONTACT
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta - media@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Global Strategic Litigation Council - laura@global-council.org
Equatorial Guinea Justice - tutu@egjustice.org (+1 (615) 479-0207)
Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa - mjallow@ihrda.org
Pan African Lawyers Union - mhoza@lawyersofafrica.org
Atlanta, GA - A coalition of human rights organizations and lawyers representing people deported from the United States to Equatorial Guinea is raising the alarm about the arbitrary arrest of two individuals who were being held at the Hotel Bamy which took place today. The coalition is urgently seeking confirmation of their whereabouts and safety.
The coalition received information from US attorney Kate O’Donnell, that two detainees, including Ahmed Soliman, had been arrested by police officers following police breaking into and searching individuals’ rooms. At the time of this release, the coalition has not received confirmation of where the two arrested individuals have been taken or of their current condition. Those detained at Hotel Bamy are now effectively held incommunicado.
Today's arrests are the third incident of escalating abuse in just over a week, marking a sharp deterioration in the conditions of detainees held at Hotel Bamy in Malabo.
On 1 September, four Ethiopian nationals were forcibly removed from the hotel to be returned to their country of origin, where they fear persecution, torture, or death. Each of these deported had been previously granted protection from deportation to their country of origin by a United States Immigration Judge. The Equatorial Guinea authorities told them to ‘go back to their home country’ or to ‘prison’. The individuals were also sent to Ethiopia despite the Provisional Measures issued by the African Commission. The Coalition has since lost touch with the people removed from Equatorial Guinea.
Later on 5 September, the Coalition were informed that guards had entered detainees’ rooms, searched them and confiscated their mobile phones. There were also reports that some detainees were beaten during the incident.
The confiscation of mobile phones has severely disrupted communication between detainees and their lawyers. It means that the Coalition lawyers are not able to establish the whereabouts and wellbeing of their clients held at the hotel, raising serious concerns about access to legal representation, protection against further mistreatment and possible removal from Equatorial Guinea.
The coalition believes the escalating brutality may be retaliation for detainees speaking out in the media about custodial abuse. The incidents are occurring despite emergency protection orders ("Provisional Measures") issued by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to prevent removal of individuals facing irreparable harm, amid ongoing proceedings before the Commission concerning those detained in Equatorial Guinea. The coalition has raised concerns about non-compliance with those measures and is urging the Commission to take immediate steps to ensure Equatorial Guinea complies with its obligations.
These developments follow a series of increasingly serious reports concerning the treatment of people detained at Hotel Bamy since the United States began deporting third-country nationals there in November 2025. Previous incidents reported to the coalition have included allegations of officers pointing firearms at detainees, including that an officer cocked a semi-automatic firearm and pointed it at a detainee while the detainee was handcuffed, as well as assaults, threats, intimidation and restrictions on detainees’ ability to communicate with their lawyers, loved ones, and the outside world. Earlier reports documented poor detention conditions and significant health risks among those held at the hotel, including concerns regarding access to medical care, medication, denial of food, water, hygiene supplies, and other basic necessities.
“We are deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation at Hotel Bamy, particularly the confiscation of phones that is now preventing lawyers from maintaining reliable contact with their clients,” said Esther Muigai-Mnaro, Program Manager at Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU). “We urgently need confirmation of the whereabouts and safety of the two detainees who were taken from the hotel on 11 September. When people are deprived of communication with their lawyers and their whereabouts cannot be reliably established, the risks of arbitrary detention and mistreatment become particularly acute.”
“In the past week alone, Equatorial Guinean police have descended on individuals detained at Hotel Bamy three times with threats, violence, and now, forcible arrests, holding the two people arrested in an unknown location,” said Meredyth Yoon, Litigation Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta. “These events are a sharp escalation of what we have witnessed for the past ten months at Hotel Bamy as migrants deported by the United States continue to face inhumane and degrading treatment. We urgently call on all international human rights actors to intervene to ensure that the rights of those who were arrested and who remain at Hotel Bamy are protected, and call on the United States to immediately halt all third-country deportations to Equatorial Guinea where migrants face detention, abuse, and chain refoulement.”
The coalition calls on the Government of Equatorial Guinea to:
immediately confirm the whereabouts and safety of the two detainees removed from Hotel Bamy on 11 September 2026;
restore detainees’ access to means of communication necessary to maintain contact with their families and lawyers;
ensure that all detainees have prompt, confidential and unrestricted access to legal representation;
ensure that detainees are protected from violence, threats, intimidation and retaliation;
provide immediate access to necessary medical care, medication and other basic necessities; and
comply fully with the provisional measures adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The coalition additionally calls on the United States Embassy and State Department to engage with the Government of Equatorial Guinea to reassess the diplomatic assurances of treatment compliant with international law for those deported to Equatorial Guinea, and to halt any further removals to Equatorial Guinea.
The coalition has also raised the latest concerns with relevant international actors, including the United Nations system, and continues to seek urgent intervention to protect the individuals concerned.
The coalition stresses that individuals must not face further harm, intimidation or retaliation as a consequence of communicating information about their conditions or exercising their right to seek legal assistance and protection.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta (Advancing Justice-Atlanta) is the first nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in Georgia and the Southeast.
