Judge will decide on extending the detention period of 303 passengers of the plane stopped in France
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The 303 passengers on board a plane detained by French authorities on suspicion of human trafficking will appear before a judge at the airport on Sunday to decide whether to keep the passengers in detention longer. Most of the passengers are Indians. A flight from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Nicaragua with 303 passengers on board was stopped at Chalons-Vatry airport in Marne on Thursday on suspicion of “human trafficking”. French news broadcast television and radio network ‘BFM TV’ reported that a hearing before a judge for liberty and custody cases to decide whether the flight’s passengers should be held in an airport waiting area will begin this Sunday.
“I don’t know if this has happened before in France,” said Francois Procureur, a lawyer and president of Chalons-en-Champaign, which is preparing to set up a courtroom at Vatry airport in Marne, 150 kilometers east of Paris. Is going. The airport serves mostly low-cost airlines. The 303 passengers of the plane will have to appear before the judge from 9 am this Sunday till Monday. If a foreign national lands in France and is prevented from going to his intended destination, French border police may initially detain him for up to four days, the report said. French law allows this period to be extended up to eight days.
If a judge approves it, the passenger can be detained for eight days, and a maximum of 26 days in exceptional circumstances. “This is urgent because we cannot keep foreigners in the waiting area for more than 96 hours,” Francois said. Further, the judge in the liberty and custody cases has to decide on their fate.” The Indian Embassy on Saturday said it will continue to work with the French government for an early resolution of the well-being and situation of the Indians currently at Vitry Airport. . The embassy posted on ‘X’ that embassy diplomatic personnel are present at the airport. The ‘reception hall’ of the airport has been converted into a waiting area for foreigners by the provincial administration.
The television network reported that four hearings would be held simultaneously, with four judges, four clerks, as many interpreters and at least four lawyers. “We are in Vatri, very far from everything… We could be considered for relocation, but all these people have rights,” Francois said. We are working quickly… This is unprecedented, we are all united.” The passengers also include 11 unaccompanied minors and according to the broadcaster, six of them have already filed an asylum request in France. Have picked up. “These people will have to be interrogated and told whether they can benefit from political refugee status or not,” the news network quoted Francois as saying.
The provincial administrator of the northeastern department of Marne said the A340 plane, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, remained parked at Vatri airport after landing on Thursday. According to the newspaper report, the provincial administrator said the plane was to be refueled and was carrying 303 Indian nationals who probably worked in the UAE. According to the report, the Indian travelers may have planned the journey to reach Central America, from where they could have attempted to enter the US or Canada illegally. But an anonymous tip raising the possibility of travelers becoming “victims of human trafficking” through an organized gang alerted authorities.
According to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation, carried out by the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (JUNLCO), aims to “verify” suspicions of human trafficking to see if any elements are involved. Two people were taken into police custody on Thursday in an attempt to verify and confirm suspicions that human trafficking was being carried out by an organized gang. For this crime, there is a provision of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of 30 lakh euros for the culprit. Legend Airlines lawyer Liliana Bakayoko denied the company’s involvement in smuggling. He told ‘BFMTV’ that the company is ready to cooperate with the French authorities and hopes that the plane can come into service in the next few days.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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