eight people arrested, including the leader of the independence organization CCAT

The Nouméa public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on May 17, notably for “criminal conspiracy”, targeting “suspected sponsors” of the riots, including “certain members of the CCAT”.

Eight people were arrested on Wednesday June 19 in New Caledonia. Among them, Christian Tein, considered the leader of the Field Action Coordination Cell (CCAT), the movement at the origin of the uprising against the reform of the electoral body, said the public prosecutor of Nouméa, Yves Dupas. Seven other people were also arrested at the same time, but their identities were not specified.

The eight suspects were taken into custody. These can last up to 96 hours, “regarding acts relating to organized crime”, specified Yves Dupas. The Nouméa public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on May 17, notably for “criminal conspiracy”, targeting “suspected sponsors” of the riots, including “certain members of the CCAT”.

On the occasion of these arrests, Wednesday morning, the headquarters of the Caledonian Union, which also houses CCAT offices, was sealed off by the police. According to several testimonies collected by AFP, the building was searched. “The police entered the offices and took photos, particularly of documents”, assured Reine Hue, elected (UC), from the province of the Islands. It was the CCAT premises that were targeted, confirmed the public prosecutor, who specified that “This operation took place without incident”.

The Caledonian Union denounced “these abusive arrests while local anti-independence leaders and criminal militiamen are strutting freely” And “demands immediate explanations for all these gratuitous arrests”. The party, however, calls on its activists “not to respond to provocation” and calls for calm “waiting for more information on these arrests”.