Seven Sri Lankans deported from Reunion Island

Seven Sri Lankan citizens were deported by plane to their home country on Thursday from Reunion Island, local media reported. They had arrived, three weeks earlier, in the middle of a group of 46 who had landed on French soil after 4,000 kilometers on a fishing boat. The remaining 39 will be able to present their asylum application.

This Thursday, seven Sri Lankans were deported by plane to their country of origin from Réunion Roland-Garros airport (called Gillot airport by Reunionese). The French authorities have chartered an Air Austral plane to offer a five-hour flight between Saint-Denis and Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

These seven people, of Sinhalese origin, were held in the waiting area of ​​the airport since their arrival on the island on September 17. They were then part of a group of 46 Sri Lankans. This group had managed to travel the 4,000 kilometers that separate their country of origin from French soil in a fishing boat.

Originally, the 46 people in the group had been placed in the waiting room. A few days later, the judge of liberties had confirmed his retention. But on September 26, the appeals court had put an end to the detention of 39 of the 46 migrants, the media traces on the 1st. The latter have already started the process of submitting an asylum application.

The remaining seven did not go to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the judge of liberties. This is the reason why they remained in Gillot’s waiting room… Until their expulsion was confirmed on Friday.

However, the seven exiles, accompanied by their lawyers, had tried to appeal to the administrative court. But the procedure was unsuccessful. (clicbro.com)