Following an application by the lawyer of an asylum seeker who was among those to be sent to Rwanda, the ECHR prevented him from boarding the plane. The decision took into account the assessment of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that “refugees to be sent to Rwanda would not have access to fair and effective legal assistance in their asylum applications there”.
It also noted the British judges’ skepticism about how safe Rwanda is. Sources told the British press that the ruling applies to all asylum seekers who have been deported by the UK.
Interior Ministry officials also confirmed to the BBC that the plane could not take off after a “last minute” intervention by the ECHR.
THE PLANE WAITED ALL DAY
It was announced that only 7 people would be on board the plane, which had been waiting all day at Boscombe Down, the military airport in Amesbury, about 130 kilometers from the capital London.
Although there were more than 120 people on the initial list, the number was reduced to 7 after the decisions taken by the British courts, and Foreign Minister Liz Truss announced that the plane would take off regardless of the number.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also threatened to expel the UK from the ECHR and accused the lawyers handling the applications of “helping criminals exploiting asylum seekers”.
REACTION REACTED
A Migration and Economic Development Partnership agreement was signed between the two countries on April 14 to send migrants and asylum seekers illegally in the UK to Rwanda. Human rights organizations reacted to the agreement.
On June 13, judges of the Court of Appeal ruled that the first flight to take migrants and asylum seekers to Rwanda could take place. Lawyers for the asylum seekers, whose individual applications had also been rejected, appealed to the ECHR hours before the flight was due to take off.
Translated with DeepL https://www.deepl.com/app/?utm_medium=android-share
ECHR blocks UK’s ‘migrant’ plan: Rwanda flight halted
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