This archive report was first published on 13 July 2019.
December 24th, 2017, marked a disturbing incident in the history of US-Somalia deportations. A chartered flight carrying 92 Somali refugees from Louisiana to Somalia was forced to make an emergency U-turn back to the US after a brief stopover in Dakar, Senegal.
The flight crew's decision to turn back was reportedly due to their lack of rest, but the real issue was the inhuman treatment meted out to the refugees during the flight. According to reports, the refugees were shackled for the entire duration of the flight, denied medication, and subjected to other forms of mistreatment.
One refugee, suffering from depression, was denied medication and only allowed to use the toilet once in 48 hours. Others were not allowed to pray according to their religious practice. These reports have sparked widespread condemnation from human rights advocates.
U.S. immigration law forbids sending people home to countries where they could face persecution or torture, and that al-Shabaab is known to target those being returned to Somalia from the U.S. A federal judge has since stopped further deportation of the Somali refugees while awaiting determination of the case challenging the deportation.
