Police in New Caledonia arrest eleven people for alleged involvement in violent protests – JURIST

Police in New Caledonia arrested 11 people on Wednesday, including independence leader Christian Tein, for alleged organized crime and involvement in the violent protests that have been taking place in the country since May 13, according to an interview with prosecutor Yves Dupas. The detainees were held in police custody for up to 96 hours.

The French prosecutor said the arrests were part of a broader investigation launched by the Noumea public prosecutor’s office on May 17. The criminal charges include participation in the preparation of a crime or offense, armed robbery and organized gang robbery, destruction of property by arson in an organized gang, and aiding and abetting by incitement to murder and attempted murder of a person in public power.

The raid began early Wednesday morning with home arrests. Yves Dupas stated that Christian Tein voluntarily contacted authorities later that same day and told them he wanted to appear before investigators on the charges against him. Christian Tein is a New Caledonian independence leader and chief spokesperson for the CCAT (Field Action Coordinating Cell). He was the only arrested person the prosecutor mentioned by name in the interview. The arrested activist, along with other activists, has increasingly mobilized in recent months against a French-initiated electoral reform. The prosecutor added that two other defendants had voluntarily turned themselves in to police.

Dupas clarified that the house arrests carried out by the police were carried out without incident or difficulty. He added that the police also carried out searches at the CCAT headquarters, but not at the headquarters of the Caledonian Union (Union Calédonienne, UC), as the latter was not the subject of the investigation.

The UC is an independence movement in New Caledonia and the oldest political party in the community. The CCAT is a pro-independence activist group founded in November last year to raise awareness of and challenge the controversial reform, a constitutional amendment proposed by the French National Assembly.

The proposed amendment is the cause of unrest in the Pacific archipelago because it would grant the right to vote to French residents who have lived in the community for ten years. The indigenous Kanaks are resisting this, fearing that the amendment would marginalize them and dilute their voting rights.

Prosecutor Dupas assured that after the arrests, the public prosecutor’s office would initiate preliminary investigations that would eventually lead to the opening of a judicial investigation.