EU member states may not imprison undocumented refugees and migrants for merely entering the Schengen zone. That’s according to the European Court of Justice.
Detention illegal for undocumented migrants - EU court
It’s chief advisor said on Tuesday that under EU rules, non-EU nationals can only be imprisoned if they’ve already been given a deportation order and have refused to go.
The court’s opinion came in the case of a woman from Ghana who was caught by French police on a coach from Belgium to London using somebody else’s passport.
She was detained under French law while police were arranging her re-admittance to Belgium.
The court said that breaches the EU Return Directive which says so-called illegal migrants must be first invited to go home voluntarily within a specific time-frame.
Euronews