Greece: Aegean Sea Unmonitored as Crackdown on Civil Society Continues, New Violent Pushbacks Amid Collective Deportations from Turkey to Syria, New Lesvos Camp in High Risk Area

18th February 2022 | News

The German NGO Mare Liberum has been forced to leave the Aegean Sea. This leaves the strait, well documented to be the scene of violent pushbacks, without civilian monitoring. Violent pushbacks from Greece continue, alongside reports of collective deportations from...

Germany: Government Urged to Speed Up Afghan Visas, Smugglers Exploit Dreams of Germany, Tens of Thousands of “Onward Movement” Claims on Hold

18th February 2022 | News

Six months on from the fall of Kabul, German rights groups are calling for the government to speed up the admission and reception of Afghans. Police operations have exposed the ways in which smugglers and so-called “work agents” exploit asylum seekers and migrants...

Cyprus: Government Blames Turkey for High Number of Arrivals and Requests Frontex Patrols – Leggeri Promises Support and Facilitation of Returns

18th February 2022 | News

Faced with a high number of arrivals the government of the Republic of Cyprus blames Turkey for “instrumentalising migration” and calls for sea patrols by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex. During his visit to the island, Frontex head Fabrice...

Central Med: Rescues Continue as Malta is Called Out for Preventing Disembarkation and Conducting Pushbacks to Libya Whose ‘Coast Guard’ Again Faces Scrutiny

18th February 2022 | News

Hundreds of lives have been saved within several days on the Central Mediterranean. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has called on Malta to stop avoiding disembarkation and review cooperation with Libya. Pushbacks to Libya have been ordered by...

Balkan Route: New Croatian Pushback Revelations, Mistreatment of People in Transit, States Block Afghans but Declare Hospitality Vis-à-vis Ukrainians

18th February 2022 | News

Following an exposé of Croatian mistreatment of migrants, police were sent an email that provides “written proof that the pushbacks were ordered by the authorities”. Meanwhile, two officers that were suspended following the October revelations have reportedly been...

Op-ed: The EU Must Stop Trapping Migrants in Libya or Risk Complicity in Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes

18th February 2022 | News

Co-authored by Marwa Mohamed, Head of Advocacy and Outreach at Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL), and Mae Thompson, Programmes Officer at LFJL. European and African leaders met in Brussels on 17 and 18 February for the sixth European Union (EU) – African Union...

EU Eastern Borders: “Disastrous” Reception Conditions in Poland and Lithuania, Pushbacks Denounced, Uptick in Arrivals to Latvia Amid Fears of War in Ukraine

18th February 2022 | News

Thousands of people remain stranded in Polish and Lithuanian reception and detention facilities, where conditions are “worse than prisons”. Human rights commissioners from both Poland and the Council of Europe have spoken out against pushbacks to Belarus – a...

Greece: UNHCR Calls for Urgent Investigation as More Bodies are Recovered in Evros, Court Rules in Favour of Refugees Accused of Arson, Local Protestors in Lesvos Arrested for Arson

11th February 2022 | News

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) calls for an urgent investigation after another seven frozen bodies were found in the Evros region, bringing the total number of deaths to 19. A Thessaloniki court has a vindicated a Syrian family of responsibility for a tent fire and...

Central Med: EU Boosts Support to Libya Amid Detainee Hunger Strike, Activists Protest Deaths at Sea, Cyprus Pushes for Returns, El Hiblu 3 Trial Continues

11th February 2022 | News

The EU is set to deliver new ships to the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, the body notorious for intercepting and returning more than 32,000 people to detention in 2021. Meanwhile, hundreds of detainees in Tripoli have launched a hunger strike to protest abuse including...

Channel: Macron Calls on UK to Offer Safe Routes, Home Office Prioritises Crackdown on “Illegal Migration” and Mothballs Afghan Resettlement, Squatters Protest French Policies

11th February 2022 | News

France says it wants to strike a deal with the UK on Channel crossings that would combine returns and resettlement. UK officials continue to focus on combatting “illegal migration” via deterrence and criminalisation of people on the move. After promising to resettle...