European Union’s top court ruled on Tuesday that its member
states cannot imprison foreigners simply because they illegally entered the
country.
The ruling was given in a case involving a Ghanaian woman
who was apprehended in France.
The EU has been grappling with an influx of migrants and
asylum seekers since 2015.
Many member states are now seeking to crack down on economic
migrants, who have no right to stay, in order to better manage those deserving
international protection.
The case before the European Court of Justice predates last
year’s migration surge, but could have a bearing on decisions taken in response
to the high number of arrivals.
In March 2013, Selina Affum, from Ghana was stopped by
French police at the Channel Tunnel crossing to Britain on board a coach
travelling from the Belgian city of Ghent to London.
Affum presented a passport bearing another person’s name and
photo. She was placed into custody for illegally entering France.
Affum challenged her treatment, and a French court turned to
the ECJ for advice on the legality of her imprisonment.
The Luxembourg judges ruled that taking into custody a
non-EU national only for illegal entry violates the bloc’s rules and undermines
their effectiveness, since this delays procedure to send the person back to
their country of origin or a country of transit.
The court said that EU rules only allow imprisonment if
foreigners stay on despite being the subject of a return procedure or if the
risk of the process is being compromised.
“If the person breaches a ban on re-entering the member
state; or if they commit other crimes,” the court said.
NAN
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