Wrongly deported migrant loses 14 kilos in prison in El Salvador
Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported from the United States to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador in March, describes that he was subjected to severe mistreatment in prison.
This is shown in a court document according to the news agency Reuters.
Here it is stated from Garcia's lawyers that he lost 14 kilos during his time in the mega-prison called Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT).
- The plaintiff Kilmar Abrego Garcia reports that he was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including, but not limited to, severe violence, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture, it is stated.
Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen, was deported from the United States on March 15 along with more than 200 people, who according to the US administration are gang members.
This happened despite a decision in 2019 that he could not be sent there because he could be persecuted by gangs.
It was an administrative error, US Justice Department lawyers have subsequently said.
The Justice Department brought Abgrego Garcia back to the United States on June 6 after charging him with conspiring with at least five others to bring immigrants to the United States illegally.
The government has said it plans to deport him again. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently in a Tennessee prison while his criminal case is pending.
Garcia lives in the state of Maryland, and his wife and child are US citizens.
Critics of US President Donald Trump see the case as evidence that his administration is putting a goal of increasing the number of migrants deported above the rule of law.
Trump has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and says that Abrego Garcia belongs to the MS-13 gang. Garcia and his lawyers deny this.
/ritzau/Reuters
