British minister calls stopping Rwanda migrant plan scandalous

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has strongly criticized the European Court of Human Rights, which recently canceled the first asylum-seeker flight to Rwanda. In British newspaper The Telegraph, Patel called the court’s ruling “outrageous”.

The minister questions the motives of the court and finds the method “opaque”. On Tuesday, the first flight would bring refugees from the United Kingdom to Rwanda. British judges decided that the flight was allowed to leavebut the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that there was a “real risk of irreparable suffering” for the refugees.

After the ruling of the European court – to which the UK is still bound despite Brexit – Minister Patel immediately made it clear that the government would continue to plan other flights. After the decision, Conservative parties also voted to turn their backs on the court, but Justice Minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday that such plans are not on the table. He did, however, state that the ECtHR had gone beyond its scope.

Individual lawsuits

The UK has designated some 130 asylum seekers to be flown to Rwanda under the controversial plan. Dozens of asylum seekers filed and won individual lawsuits, so they didn’t have to be on a flight.

The plan was announced by Prime Minister Johnson in April, and he says it is intended to discourage high-risk people smuggling across the Channel. The UK concluded an agreement with Rwanda on this, in which it was agreed that the country will receive illegal immigrants and asylum seekers for a fee. Johnson’s plan sparked a storm of protest from, among others, human rights organizations and the head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Filippo Grandi.

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