Seven independence activists linked to a group accused of orchestrating deadly riots last month in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia have been sent to mainland France for pre-trial detention, a local prosecutor said Sunday, June 23.
"This transfer was organized during the night by means of a plane specially chartered for the mission," Yves Dupas, the prosecutor in the territory's capital Nouméa, said in a statement. The seven were sent to mainland France, he added, "due to the sensitivity of the procedure and in order to allow the investigations to continue in a calm manner, free of any pressure."
Among the seven detainees was Christian Tein, head of the pro-independence group CCAT, who was charged Saturday over the recent violence in which nine people died, including two police. Authorities did not immediately specify what charges Tein faces.
His lawyer Pierre Ortent said Saturday he was "stupefied" that his client was being sent to France, 17,000 kilometers away, accusing magistrates of "answering to purely political considerations." France's government repeatedly accused Tein's CCAT of orchestrating the violence, a charge the organization has denied.
Riots, street barricades and looting broke out in New Caledonia in May over an electoral reform that would have allowed long-term residents to participate in local polls. Hundreds more were wounded, and around €1.5 billion euros of damage was inflicted during the unrest.
The archipelago's Indigenous Kanaks feared the move would dilute their vote, putting hopes for eventually winning independence definitively out of reach. The reform was suspended when President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections.