Samson Birhane, 47, came to the US as a refugee from Eritrea at age 13 and lost his status after a robbery conviction in 1988, while high school-aged. A judge had allowed him to remain in the US after ruling he would face torture in Eritrea, and he had been regularly checking in with ICE as required. After being deported to Equatorial Guinea, Birhane was bound, hooded and beaten by police alongside Ahmed Soliman for helping document abusive conditions at the Hotel Bamy detention site, then transferred to a prison in Malabo where his whereabouts have since been kept from other detainees.