A British court has upheld a legal challenge blocking the deportation of four Chagossian men who travelled to the British Indian Ocean Territory, in a ruling with significant implications for the long-running sovereignty dispute over the Chagos Archipelago.

The judge found that the removal orders were unlawful, citing the men’s ancestral connections to the territory and questioning the legal basis for excluding Chagossians from their homeland.

“This ruling affirms what the Chagossian community has argued for decades — that our connection to these islands is not just sentimental, it is legal and constitutional,” said Olivier Bancoult, chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group.

The Chagos Islands have been at the centre of a decades-long dispute between Britain and Mauritius, with the International Court of Justice ruling in 2019 that Britain’s continued administration of the territory was unlawful.

The UK government said it was “considering its options” following the ruling, while human rights organizations hailed the decision as a breakthrough for displaced island communities worldwide.