A US federal judge has blocked prison officials from transferring a dozen transgender women inmates to men’s facilities, going against an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

Trump had decreed the end of diversity programs and LGBTQ protections following his inauguration in January, notably ordering authorities to ensure that “males are not detained in women’s prisons.”

The transgender women inmates filed their lawsuit in a bid to prevent the government from implementing the order because they were concerned they would lose their gender-related medical treatment.

US District Judge Royce Lamberth issued an injunction this month to stop the transfer of three transgender women inmates and extended it to nine others on Monday.

“The same reasoning from the Court’s original TRO Order [ECF No. 23] still applies, with nothing in the record to compel a different outcome,” Lamberth said in the ruling seen by AFP.

He cited the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment, in his decision.

“Summarily removing the possibility of housing the plaintiffs in a women’s facility, when that was determined to be the appropriate facility under the existing constitutional and statutory regime, demonstrates a likelihood of success on the merits of the plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim,” he said.