Andréani said that Bacar was under house arrest on Réunion and that his request for asylum was being reviewed. On April 5, he and his men were detained at the request of the Saint-Denis public prosecutor. Bacar was moved to a different cell on April 7 due to threats he had received from other inmates. Bacar appealed his detention, and on April 18 the Saint-Denis Court of Appeal ordered that he and his men be released, although they were to be kept under house arrest at air base 181. The Comoran government was given "until May 4 to send a file documenting its extradition request". Reports on May 15 said France rejected Bacar's request for asylum. Nevertheless, the French refugee office ruled that he could not be extradited to Comoros because of the risk of persecution. France's State Secretary for Overseas, Yves Jégo, said France would support the Comoran government's efforts. "We will continue to act in consultation with the Comoros so that the law can be applied and Col Bacar can be tried." In his trial for weapons possession and illegal entry at the Saint-Denis Court of Appeal, Bacar's lawyers argued that Bacar and his men had needed the weapons for self-defense when they travelled from Anjouan to Mayotte and that they had surrendered the weapons to the police on Mayotte upon arrival. On June 5, 2008, Bacar was acquitted on the charge of illegal entry but was given a suspended sentence of three months imprisonment for entering the country with weapons. On June 24, 2008, the Saint-Denis Court of Appeal ruled against extraditing Bacar to the Comoros. With all his appeals exhausted, Bacar, his brother, and two of his men were expelled from Réunion on the morning of July 19. They were taken to Cotonou, Benin, on a French government flight; the Beninese government had agreed to allow Bacar to stay in Benin. Bacar said that on this occasion that he intended to stay there for as long as his presence was allowed, and he expressed a desire to "reflect on our past errors". Comoran government spokesman Abdourahim Said Bakar said that the government was "disappointed" by the expulsion of Bacar to Benin, reiterating the government's position that he should face trial in the Comoros or before an international court. Embargo With the decree (EG) Nr. 243/2008 from 17. March 2008 the European Commission introduced restrictive measures against