The government insisted that the plan was aimed at disrupting human trafficking networks and preventing migrants from making the dangerous sea voyage across the English Channel to France. The plan sparked a wave of criticism from charities, religious leaders and international human rights groups, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. A small crowd of protesters gathered in front of the court on Monday. A separate legal case filed by the charity Asylum Aid is also pending in the Supreme Court on Monday. Asylum Aid is requesting an urgent flight stop order to allow the plan to be heard. According to figures from the UK Department of Defense, 28,526 people arrived in the UK in small boats in 2021. The legal challenge for the deportation flights was submitted by the human rights groups Care4Calais and Detention Action, together with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), a union representing some of the UK Home Office officials who would be in charge. for deportations, as well as several of the asylum seekers facing deportation to Rwanda. The groups claimed the policy was “illegal on multiple grounds” and called for an order to stop the plane from taking off. The full court hearing on whether the plan is legal or not is scheduled for next month. The three groups argued that deportation flights should not take place prior to this hearing. They also questioned the legal authority of UK Home Secretary Pretty Patel to carry out the deportations, the “rationalization” of her claim that Rwanda is generally a “safe third country”, given its human rights record and its adequacy. malaria prevention in the country and whether the policy was in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. The head of PCS, Mark Serwotka, said in a statement that the union is “very disappointed with today’s decision and the position in which it places our members who will have to carry out these forced removals”. “Today’s decision does not make the removal legal – it will be decided next month. In the meantime, our members are being instructed to do something tomorrow that may be illegal in a few weeks,” he added. Separately, Detention Action also stated that it was disappointed with the decision. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Care4Calais said on Friday it was working with 113 people facing deportation to Rwanda. The charity said on Monday that only eight of the 31 people originally scheduled to be deported on Tuesday were to be deported, with 23 “canceling their tickets to Rwanda”. Raza Husain, representing the coalition that launched the appeal, told the court that a man who was to be on the flight on Tuesday ruled on Monday that he would continue to be deported despite being tortured, on the grounds that ” “Rwanda has a functioning healthcare system and it does not raise any problems.” The British newspaper The Times reported on Saturday that Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, had privately described the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as “disgusting”. “He said he was more than frustrated with politics,” the Times reported, citing an anonymous source. “He said he thought the whole approach of the government was horrible.” CNN has not independently verified the Times report. Clarence House did not deny the report, but said it would not comment on what it called “allegedly anonymous private conversations with the Prince of Wales.” CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite, Zahid Mahmood, Eliza Mackintosh, Rob Iddiols, Niamh Kennedy, Max Foster, Jorge Engels and Chris Liakos contributed to the report.
