US judge orders return of Egyptian deported to Equatorial Guinea

A US judge has ordered the Trump ​administration to facilitate the release and ​return of an Egyptian man who ‌was ​deported to Equatorial Guinea this year and has since been jailed there. Ahmed Soliman is one of hundreds of migrants sent ‌from the US to African countries under so-called third-country deportation deals that the US government has used to accelerate removals.

Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Thursday that 536 people had ‌been deported to African countries "that are neither their country of citizenship nor habitual residence" between January ‌2025 and August 2026. Last month, Soliman said he had faced rough treatment by Equatorial Guinean police officers. Video obtained by Reuters showed police pulling firearms on migrants including Soliman.

After Reuters published its story, Soliman was ⁠taken ​into custody and has been ⁠held incommunicado at a gendarmerie station that has also been used to detain human rights activists. In a ruling ⁠seen by Reuters on Thursday, US judge John C. Hinderaker said the Department of Homeland Security ​must facilitate Soliman's release from custody and his return to the US. That includes arranging ⁠any travel documentation he would need to return.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request ⁠for ​comment. Equatorial Guinea has also not responded to requests for comment about Soliman's case. Soliman wrote in a declaration to an immigration judge last year that he feared being ⁠killed in Egypt because he is gay.

Reuters has documented 40 cases in which migrants granted ⁠US legal protection after ⁠being persecuted for their LGBT status were deported to third countries in Africa that either criminalize same-sex relations or have been described by ‌the State Department ‌as hostile to LGBT people.