New Caledonia independence activists sent to France for detention

Noumea: Seven independence activists linked to a group accused of orchestrating deadly riots last month in the French Pacific territory of New Caledon...

Noumea: Seven independence activists linked to a group accused of orchestrating deadly riots last month in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia have been sent to mainland France for pre-trial detention, a local prosecutor said Sunday.

"This transfer was organised during the night by means of a plane specially chartered for the mission," Yves Dupas, the public prosecutor in the territory's capital Noumea, said in a statement.

The seven were sent to mainland France, he added, "due to the sensitivity of the procedure and in order to allow the investigations to continue in a calm manner, free of any pressure".

Among the seven detainees was Christian Tein, head of the pro-independence group CCAT, who was charged Saturday over the recent violence in which nine people died, including two police.

Hundreds more were wounded, and around 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) of damage was inflicted during the unrest over controversial voting reforms.