South African opera star, Pretty Yende has hit out at French police for issuing a “misleading statement” after she claimed that she was detained at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport by immigration authorities whom she accused of “outrageous racial discrimination”.
Yende, an acclaimed soprano, arrived in Paris on Monday, June 21, to take her starring role in La Sonnambula, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the UK Guardian news site reported.
In a Facebook post, Yende claimed that she was detained, strip-searched, and held in a dark room.
But according to AFP, the French police “strongly contested” the claim, saying the singer had arrived from Milan on a South African passport without a visa.
“At no moment were there any incidents,” a police source was quoted as saying, adding that Yende had not been asked to remove her clothes.
The report also quoted an airport source as saying that Yende was held for “verification” purposes that had nothing to do with the colour of her skin.
The source said Yende was released an hour and a half later with a visa allowing her to enter French territory.
However, in a Facebook post on Thursday, Yende maintained that she had the correct paperwork to be in the country.
“In the view of many press reports which shared a statement from the police that I, and I quote, ”did not have any documents but my South African passport and needed a visa to enter France”, I’d like to clarify that I DID have all the necessary documents that permit me to move freely and work since 2009.
“I have an unlimited permesso di soggiorno italiano (Italian residency permit) which is being renewed and a permesso di soggiorno improvvisorio (temporary residence), which I presented to the police at the border control and posting right now. I did NOT need a visa to enter or work in any of the European countries, including France,” Yende wrote.
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She then uploaded photos of her documents to prove her case.
She said her lawyer argued that her rights were violated.
“No more playing my word against yours game,” she said.
A BBC report said the South African embassy in Paris had since asked the French authorities to launch an investigation into the matter.
PICTURE: Facebook/@Pretty Yende
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
