Judges to decide if 300 possible victims of trafficking from India should remain grounded in France

PARIS — Judges will decide Sunday whether about 300 Indian citizens, suspected of being victims of human trafficking, should continue to be sequestered in a small French airport.

En route to Central America, the passengers have been held at Vatry airport — in Champagne country — since Thursday after a dramatic police operation prompted by a tip about a possible human trafficking scheme, authorities said.

The passengers will appear before judges throughout the day, who will decide whether to extend their detention in the airport, according to the administration for the Marne region. If they can’t be held any longer, they will be free to leave the country.

“I don’t know if this has ever been done before in France,” Francois Procureur, lawyer and head of the Châlons-en-Champagne Bar Association, told BFM TV on Saturday. The situation is urgent because “we cannot keep foreigners in a waiting area for more than 96 hours. Beyond that, it is the liberty and custody judge who must rule on their fate,” he said.

This period can be extended to eight days if a judge approves, then another eight days in exceptional circumstances.

With this urgency in mind, Procureur said four hearings will be scheduled simultaneously, with four judges, four clerks and at least four lawyers taking part in proceedings as well as interpreters. “We are all mobilized,” he said.

The passengers included children and families. The youngest is a toddler of 21 months, and among the children are several unaccompanied minors, according to the local civil protection agency.