Victoria Duthil and Lucie Harter at Supreme Court to file constitutional petition

We've covered the story of rats and royalty at the Seychelles Islands extensively and the next step in stopping the construction of Qatari villas on turtle nesting sites is led by two Seychellois citizens -- Victoria Duthil (from Friends of Aldabra) and Lucie Harter (from Seychelles at Heart). Can the right thing trump money? The duo have filed a petition in the Constitutional Court of Seychelles seeking an injunction to stop construction of a luxury Qatari hotel development on Assomption Island, 27 km from the Aldabra Atoll UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Seychelles' UNESCO island is under threat from luxury development with not so clean Qatari funds. And we have spoken with a handful of environmentalists, scientists and biologists on how wrong this Qatari project is. You can read the whole background on the story below in a series of articles we have posted.

As we speak critical turtle nesting sites are being bulldozed, the island being sold by the government in a 70-year lease and with a blind eye.

The petition being filed invokes Article 38 of the Seychelles Constitution (the right to a clean, healthy and ecologically balanced environment).

In the image below you can see that the beachfront has been dredged. This is a critical turtle nesting site.

Assomption Island is next to the Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site globally recognised as one of the most important biodiversity hotspots on Earth. After decades of human degradation, Assomption was showing signs of ecological recovery, serving as a key habitat for sea turtles, butterflies, and other insects. The Qatari-led construction project poses a serious risk of irreversible harm to these fragile ecosystems, threatening to undo decades of conservation work in the Outer Islands.

The claimants say that "legal action was taken to safeguard the constitutional right of every Seychellois to live in and enjoy a clean, healthy, and ecologically balanced environment, as stated in Article 38 of the Constitution of Seychelles."

From the outset, "we have reported that this development has proceeded without transparency or legal safeguards. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was conducted by an NGO with financial and governance ties to the project contractor, raising serious concerns about conflict of interest.

"Construction began before any environmental accountability had been assigned: no environmental officer was present, no monitoring was in place, and the biosecurity protocol ignored -- despite this being critical to prevent invasive species from devastating island ecosystems.

Green Prophet interviewed turtle expert Jeanne Mortimer on the devastation this will cause to the turtles, a cause she's given her life to protect, earning her the title of Madame Torti in the Seychelles.

"There is a lot going on behind the scenes related to Assomption. Actually I am somewhat optimistic. We will see..." says Jeanne Mortimer, the turtle expert we interviewed to get the background on the island her pinnacle work in restoring sanity and marine ecology at the Seychelles Islands. She is the Jane Goodall of turtles.

According to Mongabay and various NGO and media reports, the PR agency named The PC Agency is being used by Assets Group to promote the development and its narrative (for example, offering tourism packages). Also, Mongabay says that the London-based PR company: "Through a website run by its PR firm, the PC Agency, Assets Group has made it clear it is offering tourists an Aldabra islands package not limited to Assomption Island."

"In May 2025, the Planning Authority issued a Stop Notice for these violations, but it appears to have been immediately waived or disregarded. Since then, evidence has surfaced of unauthorised dredging, light pollution visible from Aldabra that disrupts the behaviour of both terrestrial and marine species, and a photo of a gravely injured giant tortoise."

Green Prophet has not received any comment from Assets Group.