UK cancels first deportation flight to Rwanda after Court intervenes, says “a real risk of irreversible harm”

Britain canceled a flight that was scheduled to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda late on Tuesday evening after the European Court of Human Rights intervened, saying the plan carried “a real risk of irreversible harm.”

The flight was canceled Tuesday night after the European Court of Human Rights issued injunctions to block the deportation of one of the men. The plane was just about to leave.

The court said the transfer should be suspended for three weeks because legal proceedings in Britain are continuing.

Lawyers for the asylum seekers launched a flurry of case-by-case appeals seeking to block the deportation of everyone on the government’s list.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was disappointed the flight was unable to leave but would not be “deterred from doing the right thing.”

“Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now,” Patel said.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss had said earlier in the day that the plane would take off no matter how many people were on board. But after the appeals, no one remained.

The decision to scrap the Tuesday flight capped three days of frantic court challenges as immigration rights advocates and labor unions sought to stop the deportations. The leaders of the Church of England joined the opposition, calling the government’s policy “immoral.”

Despite the outcry, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had emphatically defended Britain’s plan, arguing that it is a legitimate way to protect lives. An increasing number of illegal migrants are crossing the Strait of Dover by boat. The British government says the deportation was aimed at stopping the illegal migration business.

Reminiscing on the development, Johnson announced an agreement with Rwanda in April in which people who enter Britain illegally will be deported to the East African country. In exchange for accepting them, Britain agreed to offer 120 million pounds or about 148 million dollars worth of support in development aid to Rwanda. The deportees will be allowed to apply for asylum in Rwanda, not Britain.

Opponents have argued that it is illegal and inhumane to send people thousands of miles to a country they don’t want to live in. Britain in recent years has seen an illegal influx of migrants from such places as Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Iraq, and Yemen.

Activists have denounced the policy as an attack on the rights of refugees that most countries have recognized since the end of World War II.

The UN refugee agency condemned the plan out of concern that other countries will follow suit as war, repression and natural disasters force a growing number of people from their homes.

Already, politicians in Denmark and Austria are considering similar proposals. Australia has operated an asylum-processing center in the Pacific island nation of Nauru since 2012.

LENS, AP