Amnesty Accuses Equatorial Guinea of Abusing U.S. Deportees

Amnesty International on Sept. 18, 2026 called for the release of Ahmed Soliman and Samson Birhane after police arrested them Sept. 11 at Hotel Bamy in Malabo. Officers covered the men's heads with black bags and beat them on their heads, backs and ribs while asking where they hid phones, then pushed one down the stairs and moved them to an overcrowded police cell at a paramilitary base, Amnesty said. They were accused of breaking a mirror. A Sept. 5 video shows Soliman held at gunpoint. Authorities tried to confiscate detainees' phones on Sept. 9. "I'm at a point in life right now where I will do everything in my power to fight," Soliman said. "I'm doing this for the 17 people that live here, as well. It’s not just me." He also said police yanked his neck and elbowed his back. Nearly 30 people remain at the hotel of more than 40 sent there. Neither man has been charged. ICE spokesman Fernando X. Burgos said ICE bears no responsibility once migrants leave custody. A June lawsuit pends before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.