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Removals To Somalia In Light Of The Convention Against Torture: Recent Evidence From Somali Bantu Deportees, Daniel J. Van Lehman, Estelle M. Mckee

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a survey of Somali Bantu deported from the United States from 2016 to 2018, to determine whether they were subjected to torture upon arrival in Somalia. Of the 20 deportees interviewed, 55 percent suffered torture at least once, with the highest percentage—66.7 percent—experienced by individuals deported in 2018. The abuse, which included kidnapping, stabbings, and beatings with truncheons and whips, meets the definition of torture under Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture. Individuals were intentionally subjected to severe pain and suffering for an unlawful purpose: ransom. Further, most of the abuse was inflicted …