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Belgium in Ecuador expulsion row Belgian U-turn over Ecuadoreans
(about 8 hours later)
Belgium is poised to deport an 11-year-old Ecuadorean girl and her mother, in a case that has drawn a protest from Ecuador's First Lady. Belgium has halted the repatriation of an 11-year-old Ecuadorean girl and her mother, in a case that has gripped the nation and drawn pleas for leniency.
Belgian media say the authorities plan to deport Angelica Cajamarca and her mother Ana later on Monday. The illegal immigrants were detained on 30 June. A Brussels court issued an injunction against their deportation on Monday as they were already en route to Amsterdam to board a plane for Ecuador.
Anne Malherbe, the Belgian-born wife of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, has urged Belgium to release the pair. They were immediately returned to Brussels, Belgian foreign office spokesman Geert de Vulder said.
Their detention had left them "clearly very traumatised," she said. He said Ana Cajamarca and her daughter Angelica would be released.
"I hope Belgium backtracks, because this is really a terrible case," she told the RTL-TVi television channel on Sunday. They were detained on 30 June. Police said they had been living illegally in Belgium since 2003. The girl's father is believed to be in Belgium too.
Selma Benkhelifa, a lawyer for Ana and Angelica, was quoted as saying her clients had been mistreated during the deportation procedure.
Belgium's handling of the Ecuadorean pair drew a protest from Ecuador's First Lady on Sunday.
Anne Malherbe, the Belgian-born wife of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, said their detention had left them "clearly very traumatised".
"I hope Belgium backtracks, because this is really a terrible case," she told the RTL-TVi television channel.
"They have been affected by the walls, the bars, the armed police... locking up a child cannot have a good outcome," she added."They have been affected by the walls, the bars, the armed police... locking up a child cannot have a good outcome," she added.
About 60 people protested outside the detention centre near Brussels on Sunday, calling for the mother and girl to be released.About 60 people protested outside the detention centre near Brussels on Sunday, calling for the mother and girl to be released.
The girl's father is believed to be in Belgium. The family is reported to have arrived in Belgium in 2003.
A Belgian immigration service official, Karen Vandeweghe, told the AFP news agency that mother and daughter would board a plane on Monday evening and fly to the Ecuadorean capital Quito via Amsterdam.
She said four Belgian officials, including a psychiatrist, would accompany them.