In brief
Orville Isaac Etoria, a 62-year-old Jamaican man, was repatriated from Eswatini to Jamaica after being deported from the United States. Etoria was initially sent to Eswatini under Donald Trump's immigration policies but faced criticism from the Legal Aid Society for his treatment and lack of due process. The Eswatini government stated that he was welcomed back by his family. Concerns remain over the treatment of other deportees held in solitary confinement.
A Jamaican man deported from the US to Eswatini under President Donald Trump's tough new immigration rules has been sent on to Jamaica, the Eswatini government has said.
Orville Isaac Etoria, 62, was voluntarily repatriated at the weekend, and was warmly welcomed by members of his family, it added.
But his treatment has been condemned by the Legal Aid Society of New York, which says Etoria came to the US as a child and had lawful permanent resident status there for decades.
Etoria and four other individuals - from Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen - were described by the US government as depraved monsters when they were expelled to Eswatini in southern Africa in July.
Since then, they have been held in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison in the capital city Mbabane.
Lawyers for the remaining four deportees say they have not been able to contact them. But Eswatini's government has said that it is engaging in efforts to repatriate them all.
Trump's pledge to conduct mass deportations was a centerpiece of his election campaign and an issue on which he drew widespread support.
In some cases, people are expelled to countries where they have no ties.
Etoria had transformed his life while serving a 25-year prison sentence for murder and reintegrated into American society, when he was deported and imprisoned again in Eswatini without due process, the Legal Aid Society said.
Activists in Eswatini also denounced the deal as unconstitutional and protested outside the American embassy.
Rights groups have instituted legal action in a bid to overturn it, saying the government could not strike the deal without the approval of parliament. The government claimed it acted within its powers.
Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa. Previously known as Swaziland, the small, landlocked country is surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique and has been led by King Mswati III since 1986.
