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15th Jun 2022

“Shameful” Rwanda flight unable to take off after last-minute legal bids

Ava Evans

The European Court of Human Rights issued an injunction on behalf of an Iraqi asylum seeker.

The first flight scheduled to take migrants from the UK to Rwanda has not been able to depart, following an injunction by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

On Tuesday evening (15 June), the ECHR issued a last-minute injunction on behalf of an Iraqi asylum seeker.

Following the intervention, the number of asylum seekers eligible for deportation was reduced to zero, meaning the flight was unable to take off.

A last-ditch attempt to block the flight altogether by various charities was rejected by the Court of Appeal on Monday and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Seven people were transported to Boscombe Down, near Salisbury, ahead of the scheduled flight.

The entire group had pending applications being heard in the European Court of Human Rights.

Earlier in the evening, human rights activists were seen protesting outside the entrance to the military depot holding placards that read “stop shameful deportations” and “Priti Patel is a fascist”.

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