300 Indians stuck in French airport for fourth day amid trafficking probe
Al Jazeera
Ten of the passengers apply for French asylum, as judges probe whether a criminal group is linked to trafficking.
Hundreds of Indian nationals sequestered in a French airport are being questioned by authorities over concerns they could be victims of human trafficking.
Four French judges are rushing to speak to the group of over 300 Indians who have been grounded at the Vatry airport, 150km (93 miles) east of Paris, since Thursday.
Their charter plane, destined for the Central American nation of Nicaragua, was stopped at Vatry airport where it had landed to refuel after authorities received an anonymous tip that trafficking victims may be aboard. It had taken off from the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah airport and was run by the Romania-based Legend Airlines.
The sequestered passengers are to appear on Sunday before French judges, who will decide whether to keep them in the airport longer or send them on their way, according to the administration for the Marne region.
“I don’t know if this has ever been done before in France,” Francois Procureur, lawyer and head of the Chalons-en-Champagne Bar Association, told local media on Saturday. The situation is urgent because “we cannot keep foreigners in a waiting area for more than 96 hours. Beyond that, it is the liberty and custody judge who must rule on their fate,” he said.
