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Southeast Asian migrants deported to Eswatini held in isolation without explanation

Two Southeast Asian men deported to Eswatini in July 2025 are held in isolation in a maximum-security prison without lawyers or explanation, despite wanting to return to Vietnam and Laos.

Jul 1, 2025

Southeast Asian migrants deported to Eswatini held in isolation without explanation
Photo via El País

Two Southeast Asian migrants, clients of attorney Tin Thanh Nguyen, were deported to Eswatini in July 2025 and have been held in isolation without legal representation or explanation of charges. Neither the Vietnamese nor Laotian governments have publicly declined repatriation, and the governments have not had direct access to the men. The attorney states his clients wish to return to their home countries. The Trump administration has not explained why they were not repatriated to Vietnam or Laos, claiming such deportations are reserved for individuals their own countries will not accept—a claim the deportees' legal representatives dispute. A human rights lawyer in Eswatini sued authorities alleging the men were being denied legal representation while held in a maximum-security prison.

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