Haiti's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to secure the repatriation of Slanda François, a 31-year-old student who has been held since October 2025 at a migrant detention center in the Russian capital after being issued an order to leave the country, Le Nouvelliste learned from Foreign Minister Raina Forbin on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

"The visa application for Haiti's Chargé d'Affaires in Vietnam is currently being processed by the Russian Embassy in Hanoi, while the competent Russian authorities are carrying out the administrative procedures necessary for Mrs. François's release. As part of this repatriation process, transit visas have already been obtained for Mrs. François and the other students concerned for stopovers (...) on their way back to Haiti," Ms. Raina Forbin said, while outlining the history of the case.