
Image source, JENNIFER VASQUEZ
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- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, the migrant deported by error by the Trump administration to the megaprision of El Salvador in March, was “hit severely, deprived of sleep and tortured psychologically” during the almost three months that happened in Salvadoran custody, according to judicial documents presented Wednesday by his lawyers.
The documents, presented in the Federal District Court of Maryland, detail a series of torture to which, according to lawyers, Ábrego was subjected during their detention in the so -called terrorism confinement center (CECOT).
They indicate that after his arrival in the prison his head was shaved, they kicked him and “hit him in the head and arms” so often that the next day he had “bruises and visible packages throughout his body.”
They claim that Ábrego and and another 20 people were forced to kneel all night and that “the guards hit anyone who fell out of exhaustion.”
“During this time, the defending Ábrego García was denied access to the bathroom and dirty,” adds the file.
The lawyers describe the place where the Salvadoran was initially detained as a cell without windows and “overcrowded”, with metal bunk beds without mattresses, “bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day and a minimum access to health services.”
They also stated in the file that, at one time, Ábrego and four other detainees were transferred to another part of the prison to take photos “with mattresses and better food”, which, according to them, “seemed like a assembly to document the improvement of the conditions.”
Ábrego remained in the megaprision for almost a month and, according to his lawyers, during the first two weeks he lost about 14 kilos.
The Government of El Salvador has not commented on the complaints.
Image source, Getty Images
Deported by mistake
Abrego lived in Maryland when he was deported by mistake in March and became a voltage focus amid the migratory offensive of President Trump.
The details of his imprisonment in the CECOT were added to a lawsuit against the government filed by his wife before the Maryland court after deportation.
The documents delivered on Wednesday include a revised version of the original demand presented in March in which they requested the return of Ábrego de El Salvador. The lawyers also request the immediate release of their client in the United States.
Ábrego is currently detained by the federal authorities in Tennessee after the administration, to a surprise measure, returned from El Salvador last month despite having affirmed that he had no capacity to do so.
The Department of Justice, however, declared that he had returned him to be tried for a federal position that accuses him of having participated for years in a conspiracy for the traffic of undocumented immigrants as a member of the MS-13 gang.
The Administration asked a federal judge from Maryland to dismiss the lawsuit filed in March, arguing that this is now irrelevant because the government returned to the United States as ordered by the court.
Image source, Getty Images
It is not known what will happen now with Ábrego. It is not clear if it will remain in prison for federal charges or if it will be released on bail or in immigration custody as an undocumented migrant.
There is also the possibility of being expelled from the country again.
At a press conference on June 6, in which Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the return of Ábrego to the United States to face immigrant traffic charges, he said that he would be deported again after his criminal case concludes.
“Once he serves his sentence,” said Bondi, “we foresee that he will be returned to his country of origin, El Salvador.”
Together with the original demand reviewed, the lawyers of Ábrego submitted new documents on Wednesday reiterating their request to the Maryland court to issue a new order that prevents their expulsion from the country.
It is expected that in the next few days two audiences will be held, one in Maryland and another in Tennessee, in which it can be determined what future awaits Ábrego García.
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