France tried „scandalous and illegal attempts” to expel migrants to Syria, several NGOs and associations denounced on Friday, demanding a „clarification” from the French government regarding practices contrary to international law, AFP reports, Agerpres reads.

The two attempts date from October 2022, when two prefectures, that of Haute-Garonne (south-west) and the police prefecture of Paris, started „steps together with the Syrian embassy” in France, „while diplomatic relations between France and Syria are officially broken since March 2012”, the organizations Amnesty International, La Cimade and Revivre emphasize in a joint statement. These are „scandalous and illegal procedures according to international law”, they criticized.

„Our organizations ask the government to clarify its position, reminding the prefects of France’s international obligations, which absolutely prohibit the expulsion of a person to a country where he risks death, torture and other ill-treatment.”

Even if the two persons in question were finally released by the Judge for Liberty and Detention (JLD), the simple fact that the procedure was initiated by placing them in administrative detention centers (CRA) constitutes a „knowing violation of the rules international and European”, emphasized the authors of the communique.

Contacted by AFP, the French Ministry of the Interior replied that „there is no expulsion to Syria”, without commenting on the cases revealed by these organizations.

Agerpres