Paris (France) Protests by the passengers of an Air France Paris-Bamako flight Sunday led to the cancellation of the travel, APA has learnt.
The disclosure was made by the Réseau Education sans frontiers (RESF – Borderless Education Network), an organisation supporting the families of undocumented aliens.
RESF said a man in his forties had embarked on Air France flight AF 796 en route to his native Mali, after being deported for lack of residential permit.
But the “sans-papiers (undocumented aliens)” were roughly treated, worsening the already tense situation, the network reported.
The passengers handed a joint statement to the network’s members, who were dispatched to the airport to see what was happening.
The passengers gave a detailed report of the aborted deportation.
“A few minutes before the doors were closed, we heard screams from the back of the plane, the scenario of a usual deportation, two people attempting to control a violently struggling man in his forties…”
“A violent scene ensued, with one of the police officers trying to strangle the passenger, while the other was punching him on him stomach. His wails turned into hoarse complaints,” they said.
“Among the boos of the passengers, the man was finally strapped to restraint. He fainted, with his eyes rolled upward, his tongue hanging out, his lips mossy. The police officers were caught in panic and decided to rush the man to hospital”.
“Many passengers thought the man was dead, which heightened the emotion, with women crying, others coming from all the corners of the plane, increasing the confusion”.
The man was evacuated to an unknown destination, while one of the passengers, reported to be the leader of the protest, was remanded in custody.
The crackdown angered RESF, which is seeking to answer a series of questions about the undocumented alien.
“How is his health condition ? Where is he ? What will become of him ?”
RESF said “such extremely violent practices are unacceptable” and demanded that no legal action be taken against Dubois or any other passenger.
The organisation urged Air France to assume its responsibilities toward the passengers, saying “beside transporting them, it is also responsible for their security.”
RESF called the French carrier to “condemn the violence in the strongest possible terms”.
“It was the police brutality that forced the passengers to intervene to stop it in the face of Air France’s inaction,” the network argued.
Published by Korir, African Press in Norway (APN)/ African Press International (API) africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.apa