New Caledonia Activist says France is impeding his return to the islands

A pro-independence leader from the French overseas territory of New Caledonia has accused the French government of deliberately delaying his passport application, preventing him from flying home after his release from prison.

- Aina J Khan Montpellier

Christian Tein, an Indigenous Kanak leader, was arrested in New Caledonia in June 2024 over allegations that he had instigated the deadly protests that had taken place on the island a month earlier.

He was charged with offences including complicity in attempted murder and organised theft with a weapon, all of which he denied.

Tein was then flown to France, 10,600 miles away, on a private chartered plane and incarcerated until June this year. In October, he was cleared to return home by a Paris appeals court after most of the charges against him were dropped.

However, Tein says he is unable to return because French authorities have not reissued him with a passport. "It's been a while since I submitted my passport application," Tein said in an interview in Montpellier. "But we can see that [the French government] are deliberately dragging it out."

"A year in solitary confinement, it was very, very hard," said Tein, who is now living in northeast France. "Psychologically, you never come out of this kind of situation unscathed," he added.