A pro-independence leader from New Caledonia claims that the French government is intentionally delaying his passport application, preventing him from returning home after his release from prison.
Christian Tein, an Indigenous Kanak leader, was arrested in June 2024 over allegations of instigating deadly protests against a proposed voting law change. He was charged with various offences, including complicity in attempted murder and organised theft with a weapon, all of which he denied. Despite being cleared to return home by a Paris appeals court after most of the charges were dropped, Tein says that French authorities have not re-issued him with a passport.
Tein's experience in prison was marked by isolation, solitary confinement, and psychological trauma, which has left its mark on his life. He is now living in Alsace in north-east France, still under formal investigation for conspiracy and organised robbery, both of which he denies. The French president's proposed voting law change was eventually scrapped, but Tein claims that the government is trying to punish him by denying him a passport.
The delay to issue Tein's passport "may amount to an unlawful restriction on his right to freedom of movement", according to Urko Aiartza, co-president of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights. Tein's legal team believes that the same administration that rapidly issued him with a temporary passport before being ordered to prison in France is now delaying the issuing of a new passport.
Tein's situation highlights concerns about human rights and the treatment of Kanak independence figures and activists. His plans to return to New Caledonia, where he claims his only ambition is independence, are uncertain due to the government's actions.
Christian Tein, an Indigenous Kanak leader, was arrested in June 2024 over allegations of instigating deadly protests against a proposed voting law change. He was charged with various offences, including complicity in attempted murder and organised theft with a weapon, all of which he denied. Despite being cleared to return home by a Paris appeals court after most of the charges were dropped, Tein says that French authorities have not re-issued him with a passport.
Tein's experience in prison was marked by isolation, solitary confinement, and psychological trauma, which has left its mark on his life. He is now living in Alsace in north-east France, still under formal investigation for conspiracy and organised robbery, both of which he denies. The French president's proposed voting law change was eventually scrapped, but Tein claims that the government is trying to punish him by denying him a passport.
The delay to issue Tein's passport "may amount to an unlawful restriction on his right to freedom of movement", according to Urko Aiartza, co-president of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights. Tein's legal team believes that the same administration that rapidly issued him with a temporary passport before being ordered to prison in France is now delaying the issuing of a new passport.
Tein's situation highlights concerns about human rights and the treatment of Kanak independence figures and activists. His plans to return to New Caledonia, where he claims his only ambition is independence, are uncertain due to the government's actions.
he went through so much in prison and now he's being held back from going home again? like what even is the point of all these charges and investigations if they just gonna hold him back? 
anyway, i hope his team can get that passport out ASAP so he can finally go back to new caledonia and live life as he sees fit 
. but at the same time, it does sound like a pretty clear case of passport denial as revenge... i mean, who tries to punish someone by denying them a passport just because they're outspoken about their cause? 
tein's situation is really worrying, especially considering what he went through in prison 
it's one thing for him to be cleared of most charges, but if france isn't going to issue him a passport, that does feel like a way of punishing him 
the fact that his only ambition is independence doesn't necessarily mean he's trying to cause trouble or stir up trouble 
maybe this is just another example of how the system can be slow to respond to legitimate concerns 
i feel for tein, who's been through so much already 
this feels like a form of psychological torture, know? christian tein went thru some traumatic stuff in prison and now he's bein held back by bureaucratic red tape. 
this is just getting ridiculous... Christian Tein was in prison for what felt like forever, isolated and traumatized, and now they're trying to punish him even more by withholding his passport? 
How can they justify denying him the right to travel and live in his own country after serving time? 