The European Court of Human Rights has made a dramatic 11-hour intervention in the government’s controversial plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which could justify the first flight to the East African nation.
The lawyers of one of the asylum seekers, who are due to fly tonight, have filed a successful emergency application with the ECtHR after exhausting their applications to the UK courts.
The decision is a blow to Boris Johnson’s leading policy of sending asylum seekers 4,000 miles to the East African country.
This comes after the Prime Minister threatened to remove the United Kingdom from the ECHR and accused lawyers of helping criminals exploiting refugees in the English Channel.
The initial decision in a letter from the court stated that the asylum seeker should not be removed on Tuesday night. Sources claim that the cited grounds apply to all asylum seekers facing removal, so that all asylum seekers who have to board the plane tonight can count on this court decision.
The court said it had paid particular attention to UNHCR’s evidence that asylum seekers transferred from the United Kingdom to Rwanda would not have access to fair and effective identification procedures.
The decision also cites the decision of Judge Swift, who, although refusing to issue an order to suspend the flight tonight, said that the question of treating Rwanda as a safe third country was irrational or based on “insufficient investigation”. raises “serious problems”.
More details coming soon…
Add Comment