A judge has issued an order to temporarily block the deportation of four Chagossians who travelled to the Chagos Islands to protest against a deal to hand over the territory to Mauritius.
The Chagossians arrived on a remote part of the archipelago on Monday after sailing from Sri Lanka, with the aim of establishing a permanent settlement on their “homeland”.
British authorities served the four men with eviction papers, which warned them they could face fines or jail if they did not leave.
But lawyers representing the men have successfully applied for an injunction to prevent their removal for at least seven days.
The BBC has asked the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for comment.
In his ruling, the judge upheld challenges about an unreasonable delay or failure to grant the men permits to visit the territory and the lawfulness of the removal orders.
“There is no doubt the balance of convenience falls on the side of the claimants,” James Lewis KC, chief justice of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), said.
“They are 120 miles (193km) from Diego Garcia and pose no threat to national security on the evidence before me. If they are deported they will have great difficulties in returning.”
The judge said the British administrators of the Chagos Islands had seven days to respond to the ruling.
The lawyers supporting the Chagossians said they were prepared to go to court if the removal orders were not dropped.
The FCDO had branded their journey an “illegal, unsafe stunt” and said they did not pose any security risk to the UK-US military based on Diego Garcia.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Under BIOT law, there is no legal right for anyone to enter the territory without a valid permit, regardless of their citizenship or heritage.”
Misley Mandarin, one of the British-Chagossians who journeyed to the territory, said he had come “peacefully, respectfully, and without threat to anyone – simply to stand on our homeland again”.
He said he and the other four men “remain committed to pursuing our rights lawfully, with dignity and determination.”
He had told the BBC the British would have to “drag me from my beach” and “kill me” if they wanted him to leave.
Mandarin and the other three Chagossians on the islands are backed by the Great British PAC, a right-wing British political pressure group.
Their visit to the territory is being funded by donations organised by the group, which is campaigning against the British government’s Chagos Islands deal.
One of Manarin’s lawyers, barrister James Tumbridge, said the BIOT and FCDO “had ignored our requests for permits, but the judge was willing to take an urgent application and deal with it whilst flying over Africa”.
“This injunction gives a proper chance to understand when a deportation is appropriate,” he said.
Trump pressure
The ruling further complicates the UK’s government’s ongoing efforts to hand over control of the islands to Mauritius.
Britain has controlled the Chagos Islands since 1814 and evicted its inhabitants in the 1960s to make way for a military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia.
The islands became formally established as an overseas territory in 1965, after the British government paid Mauritius a £3m grant to retain the archipelago.
But last year, the UK government agreed to hand over control of the islands to Mauritius, arguing the future of the military base had been threatened by recent international court decisions.
Under the deal, the UK has agreed to pay £101m annually for 99 years to keep control of the UK-US military base.
The deal is now in doubt, after US President Donald Trump posted on his Trust Social platform to urge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to not “give away Diego Garcia”.
The deal has also not gone down well with many people of Chagossian descent, who were granted the right to claim British citizenship in 2022.
Many Chagossians see the deal as a betrayal and want to see the UK retain sovereignty over the islands so they can one day return to their homeland.
But while many do oppose the deal, Chagossians – who live in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles – do not speak with one voice.
By BBC News
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