At first glance, the Bamy Hotel on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, appears to be a typical tropical resort, with palm trees, marble floors, and a portrait of the president behind the reception desk. However, since late last year, it has been used as a detention centre for asylum seekers deported from the United States under a $7.5 million deal with the Trump administration.
The hotel, owned by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, serves as a way station. Of the at least 32 people imprisoned there since November, 25 have been forced to return to home countries across Africa where they fear for their lives. The rest face pressure to leave, according to interviews with detainees conducted by the Associated Press.
One 26-year-old man from an East African country, speaking on condition of anonymity, said government officials repeatedly pressured him to return to his home country, where he believes he would be imprisoned or killed due to his ethnicity. Human rights experts say all asylum seekers at the hotel face a high risk of persecution if sent back.
The Trump administration uses deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries, immigration lawyers say. Equatorial Guinea is one of nearly two dozen countries, mostly in the developing world, that have signed such agreements, often in exchange for goodwill in trade, migration, or aid negotiations.
Detainees at the hotel have not faced physical abuse but endure intense psychological pressure. They are confined to the hotel, not allowed to use the pool, and receive limited supplies from a local lawyer. Medical care has been uneven, with one detainee taken to hospital for an eye problem only after complaining.
The State Department declined to comment on the specific deal, stating only its commitment to ending illegal immigration. The Obiang administration did not respond to requests for comment. The AP is the only international news organisation to have visited the hotel, during a recent papal visit.
