Courtroom blocks deportation of Cameroonians searching for asylum in Trinidad
The Trinidad Excessive Courtroom has blocked the deportation of 5 Cameroonians searching for asylum, pending the end result of their lawsuit in opposition to the Chief Immigration Officer and the Workplace of the Legal professional Common.
The interim injunction was granted by Excessive Courtroom Decide Carol Gobin simply earlier than midnight on Tuesday, lower than 4 hours earlier than Bertha Takem Oben Etchi, Achatie Magrate Affuelasong, Venessa Njeck Enjek, Humphrey Nche Ngangfor, and Bringsluck Fru Nchewere had been scheduled to depart Piarco Worldwide Airport.
The group arrived within the twin-island republic on a flight from Suriname in November final yr, saying they feared they’d have been killed by navy forces of their homeland.
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Attorneys-at-law Om Lalla, Ilisha Manerikar and Aaron Mahabir filed the court docket motion late Tuesday night.
They mentioned Etchi, Affuelasong and Enjeck, the three females within the group, had been lately interviewed by officers from the United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and had been deemed eligible final week to obtain refugee standing.
The lads, Ngangfor and his son, Nchewere, are to face a closing interview by UNHCR officers to find out if they’re eligible for refugee standing.
The attorneys said of their software that the Immigration Division was conscious of this however was ignoring the UNHCR course of and determined to ship the group again to Cameroon.
Immigration officers detained the Cameroonians after they arrived within the island final November pending deportation.
In correspondence despatched subsequently to Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews, Lalla sought entry for the 5 as asylum seekers on account of fears of persecution and prosecution of their nation. He referred to direct assaults they confronted earlier than lately fleeing Cameroon.
A particular immigration tribunal heard the enchantment in opposition to the deportation order however dismissed it. Nevertheless, the Cameroonians had been allowed to pursue their software to be deemed asylum seekers with the UNHCR.
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