For nearly a year, the Hotel Bamy in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, has been Adam’s prison. He is confined alone to a hotel room, under constant watch by the security officers and soldiers of a notoriously oppressive regime who control his movements. Not long ago, they barged into his room, handcuffed and beat him, and warned him not to tell anyone. There is no cell to point to, no charges or formal sentence, and nothing on paper to document his plight.

Adam, 26, has chosen not to share his real name or even his country of origin out of fear for his safety. He fled indefinite, forced military conscription in his home country after enduring abuse during his military service.

Adam sought safety in the United States. A US immigration judge heard his case, found that he would probably face persecution if forced to return to his country of origin, and issued a formal order shielding him from removal there. Then, in November 2025, the United States sent him to Equatorial Guinea, a country he had never set foot in and where torture reportedly occurs in every prison nationwide, according to the most recent state department human rights report. Adam, and the other men onboard the flight, were told they were being transferred to another US detention facility. It was only midway through the 13 hour and 10 minute flight that they found out – while shackled – that they were headed toward Equatorial Guinea.

None of this is happening in a vacuum. In November, the Trump administration repurposed $7.5m to pay the government of Equatorial Guinea to accept third country nationals from the United States, a 275% foreign assistance increase and departure from longstanding US policy against direct provision of aid to a deeply corrupt and abusive regime. Congress appropriated these taxpayer funds for humanitarian assistance for refugees in dire need – money that is now used........

© The Guardian