Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Gisela Salomon

Lawsuit says US held West African migrants in straitjackets for 16 hours on flight to Ghana

Ghana-US Deportees - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Some West Africans who were deported from the U.S. to Ghana were held in “straitjackets” for 16 hours on a flight during which all passengers were shackled and given only bread and water, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of five migrants, says passengers were awoken in the middle of the night on Sept. 5 and not told where they were going until hours into the flight on a U.S. military cargo plane.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.