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Border Police on the English Channel: People were brought to Dover
Photo: Andrew Matthews / dpa
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Britain not to fly an Iraqi asylum seeker to Rwanda for the time being.
The court's decision was made shortly before the man was to be taken to the East African country with other people.
In an interim measure, the court asked the British authorities not to take the man out of the country until at least three weeks after a final decision in his ongoing proceedings in Great Britain.
The court should be informed of the final decision.
The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to take action against smuggling gangs and make unwanted entry via the English Channel unattractive.
According to Johnson's plans, Rwanda will initially receive 120 million pounds (about 144 million euros) for the cooperation.
Last year, more than 28,000 migrants and refugees crossed the Channel to Britain.
Political opponents, charities and high-ranking clergy have expressed their dismay at the project.
The United Nations sees the British project as a breach of international law and a dangerous precedent.
The ECtHR does not belong to the European Union, but to the Council of Europe - and is therefore also responsible for Great Britain.
According to the court, interim measures are binding and are only imposed rarely and when there is an imminent risk of irreparable damage.
It was initially unclear whether the decision would affect other asylum seekers that Great Britain wants to bring to Rwanda.
A first plane should start on Tuesday evening.
The number of passengers had recently shrunk significantly, as other asylum seekers sued successfully in British courts.
The Reuters news agency reports that the number of refugees for the first flight has fallen from 37 to seven.
ani/Reuters/dpa
