Overview

• Appeal judges confirmed the late‑September easing of judicial control, allowing Tein to travel home while he remains under indictment for organized armed theft, organized destruction, and criminal association.
• The court lifted bans on contact with several independence figures, including Guillaume Vama, Brenda Wanabo, Steeve Unë, and his nephew Dimitri Qenegei, who also received looser controls and permission to return.
• Prosecutors had sought to keep Tein in mainland France for investigative needs and as a safety measure, citing a fragile security context in the territory.
• Tein was detained in June 2024 and transferred to France with six others on a chartered flight before his release about a year later; he denies having called for violence.
• The decision lands against an unsettled political backdrop, with the FLNKS having withdrawn from the Bougival accord and the Senate voting to delay provincial elections to spring 2026.