New Caledonia independence activist to be held in France
- Christian Tein, head of the CCAT group, will be sent almost 17,000km to France with the group’s communications chief Brenda Wanabo
A pro-independence leader in the French Pacific territory New Caledonia would be held in France after being charged on Saturday over deadly riots last month, his lawyer said.
Christian Tein, head of the CCAT group, will be sent almost 17,000km (10,500 miles) to France with the group’s communications chief Brenda Wanabo.
An investigating magistrate charged Tein in New Caledonia’s capital Noumea on Saturday. He was the first from a group of 11 people arrested on Wednesday to be charged over the violence, in which nine people died, including two police.
Hundreds more were wounded, and around €1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion) of damage was inflicted during the troubles.
Authorities did not immediately say what charges Tein faced, although Noumea chief prosecutor Yves Dupas said his investigation covered armed robbery and complicity in murder or attempted murder.
Tein’s lawyer Pierre Ortent said he was “stupefied” that his client would be sent to a prison in Mulhouse in eastern France. Wanabo’s representative Thomas Gruet said she would be sent to Dijon.