2 Immigrants Claim They Were Forcibly Sedated As The U.S. Tried To Deported Them

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Two immigrants who are appealing deportation orders claim they were forcibly sedated as the U.S. tried to fly them out of the country. <br/><br/>Raymond Soeoth, 38, of Indonesia, was

Wednesday, May 9th 2007, 2:54 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Two immigrants who are appealing deportation orders claim they were forcibly sedated as the U.S. tried to fly them out of the country.

Raymond Soeoth, 38, of Indonesia, was injected with anti-psychotic drugs at a detention facility in 2004 and Amadou Diouf, 31, of Senegal, was forcibly sedated while on a plane last year, their attorneys contend.

``It's blatantly illegal,'' said attorney Ahilan Arulanantham of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. ``You cannot inject people with psychotropic drugs if they are not mentally ill.''

The ACLU said it was investigating the incidents, which were first reported in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Marc Raimondi, in Washington, said detainees' privacy rights prevented him from discussing specific cases, but in general, a public health official escorts deportees and determines what medical treatment occurs. He said that official administers medication only ``as a last resort.''

Soeoth is a Chinese Christian who fled Indonesia in 1999 and sought political asylum. His request was rejected in 2004 but is being appealed.

Soeoth contended that immigration agents told him in December 2004 that he was going to be deported, and in a detention center room, grabbed his arms and legs, pushed him onto a bench, pulled down his pants and injected him.

Medical files indicated that Soeoth may have threatened to kill himself, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday, but Soeoth denied that. At the airport, airline security officials canceled Soeoth's removal because they were not properly notified by immigration officials, according to his medical file.

Diouf was ordered deported for overstaying a student visa but is free pending appeal. He is married to an American citizen.

Diouf said he was wrestled to the ground by a medical escort and injected in February 2006 while being deported on a commercial flight. He said he was handcuffed at the time and had asked to speak to the captain of the flight to tell him he had gotten a stay of deportation.

Diouf said the captain ordered him and the agents escorting him off the plane.