The Civil Fleet Podcast
Saving lives at sea is not a crime But for the past few years, European states have treated those brave enough to save refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean as if they were breaking the law. Welcome to The Civil Fleet, a podcast by civilfleet.com that focuses on the NGO refugee rescuers in the central Mediterranean and beyond.
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Episode 82: Monitoring human rights the Channel
11/06/2025
Episode 82: Monitoring human rights the Channel
In this episode, we speak with Peter from The Channel Monitoring Project. He tells how the new project plans to monitor people crossing over from France to England, how the group hopes to counter the toxicity around this in Britain, and how anyone can get involved. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Join me at the Manchester Anarchist Bookfair, see here: --- Show notes --- For more on The Channel Monitoring Project, see their website here: Find their social media profiles here: Facebook: Bluesky: And Discord: For more on Channel Rescue, see episode 11 Read about the UK Border Force training to push people back to France, here: For more on The Channel, the Illegal Immigration Act, the Nationality and Borders Act, the Rwanda Scheme, the Bibby Stockholm and more on the UK, see episodes 73, 62, 61, 57, 49, 44, 42, 39, 38, 32, 25, 21 and 17 For more on the Pylos Shipwreck, see episodes 60 and 52 For more on the Anduril's AI system at the border, see this report from Migrant Rights Network: For more on Refugees in Libya, see episodes: 79 and 29
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Episode 81: Kidnapped by the IDF – The Global Sumud Flotilla story
10/19/2025
Episode 81: Kidnapped by the IDF – The Global Sumud Flotilla story
In this episode, we speak with Lorenzo D'Agostino, a journalist who took part the Global Sumud Flotilla's civilian-led mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. He tells us about joining sailing from Barcelona towards Gaza, how its boats came under repeated drone attacks, and how the activists were eventually intercepted and kidnapped by the Israeli Navy. Lorenzo tells us how, once in Israel, his captors treated them all like terrorists and subjected them to torture, before deporting them to Turkey. We also hear how most European governments totally failed to stand up for their citizens. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Join me at the Manchester Anarchist Bookfair, see here: --- Show notes --- For more on the Global Sumud Flotilla, see the group's website here: Follow Lorenzo D'Agostino on: Twitter: Instagram: And on TikTok: Check out his website here: Check out episode 19 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more from Lorenzo Want to know what Lorenzo and I were doing in Trappani, Sicily, last January? Then check out episode 54. For more on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, see here: Read this CBS report on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approving the bombings of Family and Alma ship in Tunisia: For more on Palestine Action, see here: Ben mentions the Libyan Coastguards firing on the Ocean Viking refugee rescue ship and the Italy navy failing to help. Check out episode 80 for more on that. You can read a farcical (and now deleted) article on an Israeli government website claiming the Global Sumud Flotilla was organised by Hamas, here: Ben mentions The World Transformed Festival. Read about that here: You can read Lorenzo's article addressed to the Israeli people, here: Read about Saleh al-Jafaraw, the latest (as of this recording) journalist killed by the Israeli military, here:
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Episode 80: Under attack from the Libyan ‘Coastguards’
10/10/2025
Episode 80: Under attack from the Libyan ‘Coastguards’
In this episode, we speak with Patrick, a search and rescue worker on SOS Mediteranee's ship the Ocean Viking. Patrick is going to tell us about the Libyan Coastguard's attack on the Ocean Viking in August this year. The tells us how the EU-funded Libyan Coastguards circled the ship and peppered it with bullets at head and chest height. There were 80 rescued people on the ship, including unaccompanied children. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Despite their attack on a European-flagged ship, the EU has said it will continue to fund and work with the Libyan Coastguards. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on SOS Mediterranee, see their website here: Follow SOS Mediterranee on social media: BlueSky: Insta: Twitter: You can watch a clip of Libyan Coastguards firing on Ocean Viking here: Also, listen to episode 75 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on SOS Mediterranee. For more on Sea-Eye, check out episode 10; Sea-Watch, see episodes 70, 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1, and SOS Humanity, listen to episodes 55 and 31 of The Civil Fleet Podcast. For more on Italy's distant ports policy, see episodes 71 with ResQShip, and 69, with SeaPunks. For more on the Libyan Coastguards, see here: Read about the EU dismissing the civil fleet's calls to stop funding Libyan Coastguard after the shooting, here: (Unfortunately, it's behind a paywall...) For more on the Manchester Anarchist Bookfair, see here:
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Episode 79: Documenting the UNHCR's failures in North Africa
10/02/2025
Episode 79: Documenting the UNHCR's failures in North Africa
In this episode, we speak with human rights campaigner and Refugees in Libya co-founder David Yambio. He gives us an update on Refugees in Libya's Unfair campaign, which demands the UNHCR change the way it treats people in need of its protection. He tells us about the Book of Shame — which he and his fellow Refugees in Libya campaigners co-wrote with members of Refugees in Tunisia and Refugees in Niger. He tells us how the book outlines the UNHCR's failures to protect people-on-the-move, in North Africa. David also tells us how he found out that the Italian state used an Israeli spy firm to tap his phone and spy on him. --Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on Refugees in Libya, see: You can read the Book of Shame here: Check out episode 29 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more with David Yambio Read this interview with David Yambio on The Civil Fleet blog from when he was living in Libya: For more on the EU's support for the Libyan Coastguards despite its fears of human rights abuses, read this:
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Episode 78: Solidarity on trial in Poland
09/25/2025
Episode 78: Solidarity on trial in Poland
In this episode we speak with Aleksandra from Grupa Granica, a refugee support coalition working at the Poland-Belarus border, and Ola, a member Szpila, an anti-repression feminist collective based in Warsaw. They are going to tell us about the trial of a man called Bartek, who, in October 2024, provided humanitarian assistance to a young Somali man who wanted to apply for asylum in Poland. However, the border guards pushed the Somali man back to Belarus without lodging his asylum application. When Bartek told the guards that he would file a complaint against them and inform the media of their actions, they accused him of trying to "influence the official duties of the border guard," and even of threatening them. The court is expected to give its verdict in the case on September 26. We'll try to get an update for you as soon as we can. Keep an eye on The Civil Fleet's blog. Ola and Aleksandra are going to tell us all about the situation at Poland's border with Belarus for people on the move, and how the government has suspended the right to claim asylum at the Belarus border. --Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on Szpila, see their website here: For more on Grupa Granica, see their website here: Or follow them on Facebook: facebook.com/grupagranica For more on Grupa Granica, check out episode 64 of The Civil Fleet Podcast Read Szpila's June 2025 report on the criminalisation of solidarity here: Check out episode 33 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Belarus from the Lithuanian side of the border. And check out The Civil Fleet's stories on Belarus here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Belarus/ For more on Poland suspending asylum claims for people crossing the border from Belarus, see here: amnesty.org/en/documents/eur37/9322/2025/en/ For more on We Are Monitoring, check them out here: https://wearemonitoring.org.pl/en/home/ For more on the US and Hungarian governments designating Antifa as a terrorist organisation, see here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/20/hungary-urges-eu-to-designate-antifa-as-a-terrorist-group
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Episode 77: Occupy Fortress Europe!
09/12/2025
Episode 77: Occupy Fortress Europe!
We speak with Manon and Camille, two activists with F.Lotta - a horizon network organising protests across Europe this weekend and the central Mediterranean, demanding free movement for all and an end to fortress Europe's murderous policies. Camille and Manon tell us how and why F.Lotta was formed, about all the different campaigns taking part in the continent-wide protests, and how they hope the protests will show that a different world is possible. --Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on F.Lotta, see their website here: Follow them on Instagram: For all campaigns involved with F.Lotta, see here: You can see F.Lotta's map of action this weekend here: For more on Operation Sophia, see here: For more on the deaths in the Channel this week, read here: For more on the attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, read this:
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Episode 76: Stop the inhumanity at Europe's borders
08/25/2025
Episode 76: Stop the inhumanity at Europe's borders
In this episode, we speak with Jeff Crisp, formerly of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and now part of the campaign group United Against Inhumanity (UAI). He tells us how and why UAI was set up, how it is trying to get European governments to treat people-on-the-move humanely, and about the organisation's recently published manifesto: Stop the Inhumanity at Europe's Borders. We also discuss the far-right's anti-asylum-seeker protests in the UK, Italy's failed deportation deal with Albania, and the US's similar deals with countries in Africa and Latin America. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- Follow Jeff Crisp on Twitter, via Find United Against Inhumanity's website here: Read UAI's manifesto here: Read Jeff's article on why refugees are going hungry across the world: Read Jeff's New York Times on Trump's offshoring policy here: Or get around the NYT's paywall here: Here's the article Jeff speaks about on why some refugees don't stay in France: Ben mentions a bunch of other people and organisations that have been on the podcast before. For more on: Open Arms, see episodes 30 and 13 No Name Kitchen, see episodes 59, 58, 51, 41, and 6 MSF, see episodes 21 and 14 Alarm Phone, see episodes 5 and 3 Frontex, see episodes 68, 54, 52, 50, 34, 31, 23, 15, 7 and 1 Tunisia, see episode 48 Gaza, see episode 67 Pylos disaster, see episodes 60 and 52 I can't find the comedian I mentioned in this episode about immigrants being the true patriots. I thought it was Doug Standhope, but it's not. For more on the UK government's banning of Palestine Action, see here: As usual, Ben butchers a famous phrase in this episode. The phrase often misattributed to Italian communist Antonio Gramsci is "Pessimism of the intellect. Optimism of the will."
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Episode 75: Frontex ‘likely’ breached refugees' right to life
08/08/2025
Episode 75: Frontex ‘likely’ breached refugees' right to life
In this episode, we speak with Lucille, operation communications manager for SOS Mediterranee. She tells us how the Ocean Viking's crew found 25 people adrift in the Mediterranean Sea by chance in March 2024. The survivors told Lucille that they had left Libya five or six days ago with around 60 people. Most of them didn't survive. A serious incident report published quietly by Frontex in May this year corroborates the survivors' accounts, that their boat was spotted by planes and commercial ships, but no rescue was launched. The Frontex report also admits that its own failures — as well as those of the Libyan, Maltese and Italian maritime authorises — "likely" breached the fundamental right to life of those who died. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on SOS Mediterranee, see their website here: Follow SOS Mediterranee on social media: BlueSky: Insta: Twitter: You can download Frontex's serious incident report 13681 / 2024 here: Find the full Frontex report on The Civil Fleet's website, too: For more on SOS Mediterranee's old ship, the Aquarius, read this: For more on Doctors Without Borders (MSF), see episodes 67, 21 and 14 of The Civil Fleet Podcast For more on Frontex, the European Border and Coastguard Agency, check out episodes 68, 54, 52, 50, 34, 31, 23, 15, 7 and 1 For more on Malta, see episodes: 74, 72, 37, 27, and 5 For more on Seabird, check out episodes: 65 and 1 Alarm Phone activists are interviewed in episodes: 48, 5 and 3 You can read Alarm Phone's account of all this, here: Oh, and Ben mentions the episode with Nadir, ResQship's rescue ship. That is episode 71. Also, check out episode 27 for more on the Nadir.
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Episode 74: Is solidarity a crime?
07/24/2025
Episode 74: Is solidarity a crime?
We speak with Silvia from the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, or PICUM. She tells us about a report she wrote for PICUM on the criminalisation and non-judicial harassment of people-on-the-move and activists working in solidarity with them in Europe last year. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on PICUM, see: You can read the PICUM report talked about in this episode here: Follow PICUM on social media: Bluesky: Twitter: Instagram: Silvia mentioned former Green Party MEP Majid Majid. For more on him, see here: Ben mentions migrants rights campaigner Zoe Gardner. See episodes 73 and 38 of The Civil Fleet Podcast to hear from her. Read this report from the Irish Times on the anti-migrant protests blighting Ireland recently; Ben mentions previous episodes of The Civil Fleet Podcast with people-on-the-move who have been criminalised in Greece, Italy and Malta. Here are some of the episodes: Episode 56 focuses on the Homayoun Sabetara case Episode 53 features Nadia, a Lebanese refugee whose husband was accused of smuggling Hanad Abdi Mohammad, a Somalian refugee who was sentenced to 142 years behind bars for supposedly captaining a boat across the Aegean, talks to us in episode 35 Check out episode 29 to hear from South Sudanese human rights campaigner Yambio David Oliver Listen to episode 37 to hear about the El Hiblu 3 Silvia mentions No Name Kitchen. For more on them, see episodes: 63, 59, 58, 51, 41 and 6 For more on the Iuventa case, listen to episodes 54, 24, and 2 Silvia mention Francesca Cancellaro. Check out episode 36 to hear from here, and the Iuventa case Read this for more on Italy's detention of the refugee rescue ship Nadir: Ben makes reference to the British government banning a non-violent protest group banned by the British government. For more on that, see here: For more on the Kinsa case, see
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Episode 73: Dismantle the Home Office
07/11/2025
Episode 73: Dismantle the Home Office
In this episode, migrants rights campaigner Zoe Gardner tells us why the UK Home Office should be dismantled. In a report she recently wrote for the Green Party, Zoe says the controversial department should be split up into two new ministries. We talk about the Home Office's acts of cruelty to migrants, refugees and people on the move, and how government policy of housing asylum seekers in unfit accommodation has created a billionaire. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- You can follow Zoe on Twitter here: And on Bluesky here: Read the report, No Way Home? It is time to remove management of immigration from the Home Office here: Zoe Gardner was last on The Civil Fleet Podcast in 2023. We spoke about UK's Illegal Migration Bill. Check out episode 38 for that For more on the Windrush Scandal, see episode 39 of The Civil Fleet Podcast with filmmaker Sonita Gale For more on the government removing the right to claim British citizenship from people who cross the Channel in small boats, see here: For more on the previous British government's plans to deport people to Rwanda, see episodes 62, 57, 49, 40, 38, 32, and 25 For more on Clearsprings Ready Homes, check out episode 40 with Corporate Watch. And read this story on the numbers of asylum seekers dying in Britain's Home Office Accommodation: Here's the book Zoe recommended, called Wreckonomics: Why it's time to end the war on everything. You can find that here: . (Please don't buy it, or anything else, from Amazon) Check out episode 49 to hear an interview with Paul O'Connor, then senior national officer at the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union For more on the situation in Greece, check out episodes: 68, 60, 56, 53, 52, 50, 35, 34, 28, 26, 18, 9 and 4
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Episode 72: Mapping Malta's border violence
07/04/2025
Episode 72: Mapping Malta's border violence
In this episode, we speak with academic Cetta and foreign policy analyst Daniel about the Malta Migration Archive. We discuss the Maltese government's refusal to save refugee lives in its own search-and-rescue zone, how it ignores civilian rescue ships, pressurises commercial ships to not rescue refugees, and how it organises pushbacks with the so-called Libyan coastguards. Cetta and Daniel tell us how the Malta Migration Archive maps all of this, and why it is so important to expose and combat the Maltese government's silence. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- Check out the Malta Migration Archive here: Follow them on Blue Sky on And on Twitter on Cetta mentions the El Hiblu 3 – three young men who Malta arrested on terrorism charges after they helped prevent a push back to Libya. For more on that, check out episode 37 of The Civil Fleet Podcast Daniel mentions the rescue organisation Mission Lifeline. For more on them, see here: Check out episodes 48, 5 and 3 for more on Alarm Phone. Episodes 70, 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1 feature interviews with Sea-Watch activists Cetta mentions the Tuna-pen Incident. For more on that, see here: She also mentions the Civil Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (CMRCC). Check them out here: Episodes 65 and 1 are focused on Sea-Watch's reconnaissance planes Seabird. Have a listen when you can. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) get mention in the episode, and they're the focus of episodes 67, 21 and 14. Listen to episodes 47 and 18 to hear more about how commercial shipping has been affected by Malta's refusal to take in people on the move. Ben mentions the Dublin Agreement. Check out this explainer video by The Guardian newspaper for more on that: Ben also mentions Doro, and the book about him. You can buy the book here: Listen to episode 43 for an interview with co-author and Sea-Watch activist Brendan Woodhouse. Ben suggests that governments have never really respected international law. Check this out: h David Yambio, South Sudanese human rights activist and founder of Refugees in Libya, is interviewed in episode 29.
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Episode 71: Dead children and distant ports
06/26/2025
Episode 71: Dead children and distant ports
In this episode, we speak with medical doctors Hannah and James about their latest missions on the Nadir, a sailing boat operated by ResQship. Hannah tells us about a rescue in May, when the crew found a boat carrying over 60 people, including two dead children. The people they rescued had been at sea for four days with no water. James tells us about the Nadir's last rescue in June. After bringing 112 people to safety in Lampedusa, the Italian authorities decided to block the ship from leaving port. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on ResQship, see: Follow them on: and And, listen to episode 27 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Nadir Read The Civil Fleet's coverage of the Nadir, here: Ben mentions a report by Sea-Watch on how the EU could restart state-led refugee rescues. Read that here: For more on the Piantedosi Decree, read this: Also, listen to episodes 70, 69, 68 and 65 For more on the detention of the Sea-Eye 5, see here: Listen to episode 10 for more on Sea-Eye. James mentions the Flussi Decree. Read about that here:
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Episode 70: They were left stranded on a gas rig
05/10/2025
Episode 70: They were left stranded on a gas rig
In this episode, Sea-Watch's search-and-rescue coordinator Hendrik tells us about the rescue of 32 people stranded on a gas rig in central Mediterranean in March. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on Sea-Watch, visit: Follow Sea-Watch on BlueSky: Instagram: seawatchcrew Also, check out episodes 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Sea-Watch. For more on the Miskar Platform rescue, see here: https:// You can watch the 2020 YouTube interview I did with Hendrik and Dariush here: (Check out my Covid beard!) For more about the Iuventa, check out episodes: 54, 36, 24, and 2. You can read more about the Iuventa, here: Hendrik mentions the RNLI – the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a lifeboat charity based in the UK. He also mentions the Humanitarian Pilot Project. You can find out more about them here: The Greek coastguards are fascists? • Read this: , this: this and Google Greek Coastguards. • See here: • Check out episodes 68, 60, 56, 53, 52, 50, 41, 35, 28, 26, 24, 23, 22, 18, 12, 9, and 4
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Episode 69: ‘You don't have children anymore‘
03/07/2025
Episode 69: ‘You don't have children anymore‘
In this episode, we speak with Arturo, captain of the refugee rescue ship Seapunk I. He's going to tell us all about the Seapunks activist group and its connection with punk rock music. He also tells us about a dramatic rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea in January, in which several people died. We also discuss how the Italian authorities force NGO ships to take the refugees to distant ports, and how this deliberately results in more refugee deaths. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on Seapunks, visit Follow them on Instagram on: And on Bluesky here: For more on Sea-Watch, check out episodes: 43, 22, 7 and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast Listen to episodes 48 and 20 for more on Louise Michel For more on Iuventa, download episodes 54, 36, 24 and 2 For more on Refugee Rescue, see here: Interviews with Alarm Phone activists are in episodes 48, 5 and 3 Check out our two interviews with Brendan Woodhouse in episodes 43 and 22
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Episode 68: EU plans to criminalise solidarity with refugees
02/25/2025
Episode 68: EU plans to criminalise solidarity with refugees
In this episode, we speak with Yasha Maccanico a researcher and journalist at StateWatch, a UK-based charity focused on civil liberties, human rights and democracy in Europe. We talk about a proposed EU law that could make it easier for states to criminalise acts of solidarity with people on the move. Yasha also talks to us about abuses of state power in Europe under the guise of lowering immigration, the externalisation of the EU's borders in Africa, and much more. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on StateWatch, check out their work here: Follow them on BlueSky: Ben misquotes the late left-wing politician Tony Benn, who once said: “The way a government treats refugees is very instructive, because it shows you how they would treat the rest of us if they thought they could get away with it.” In fact, the phrase may have been misattributed to Tony Benn. You can watch one of Tony Benn's most famous speeches against the US-UK' illegal invasion of Iraq, here: Yasha mentions the an independent media company Bristol Cable. You can read their work here: Ben and Yasha talk briefly about the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol in 2020. You can read more about that here; Here's where you can find out more about Migreurop: Ben mentions an episode of The Civil Fleet with Jihed, a Tunisian activist with Alarm Phone and Louise Michelle. Check out episode 48 for that. For more on Frontex, the European Border and Coastguard Agency, check out episodes 54, 52, 50, 34, 31, 23, 15, 7 and 1 Ben mentions previous The Civil Fleet Podcast episodes with people who have been arrested and given ludicrous sentences for driving boats or cars across borders. Check out episodes: 56, which focuses on Homayoun Sabetara, a father who fled Iran to be reunited with his daughters in Germany and was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in Greece after he was forced to drive across the border. 53 with Nadia, a young refugee woman from Lebanon who husband was arrested by the Greek authorities and accused of human smuggling after spending 10 days adrift in the Mediterranean. 35 with Hanad, a Somalian refugee who was senteced to 142 years behind bars for trying to stop his boat from sinking in the Aegean Sea and saving the lives of 33 others Here are the links Yasha sent: EU: New migrant smuggling law to ensure criminalisation of solidarity (December 2024) A new EU law on the criminalisation of migrant smuggling will be examined by the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council. The Council is due to approve its position for negotiations with the European Parliament. The existing law has been criticised for failing to prevent the criminalisation of migration and acts of solidarity with migrants and refugees. The new text, obtained by Statewatch and published here, appears likely to worsen the situation. ----- EU: Council lowers threshold for migrant smuggling prosecutions (July 2024, with PICUM) EU institutions are discussing proposed changes to the law criminalising the facilitation of irregular migration, which has also been used to criminalise migrants and individuals acting in solidarity with them. The Belgian Council presidency presented a revised draft to other EU member states at the end of May, which would simplify the criminalisation of irregular entry, amongst other things. The draft will serve as the basis for further discussions within the Council, with Hungary now in the presidency role until the end of this year. ----- Viewpoint, Hindering humanitarianism: European Commission will not ensure protection for those aiding sans-papiers, Chris Jones (April 2017) ----- The shrinking space for solidarity with migrants and refugees: how the European Union and Member States target and criminalize defenders of the rights of people on the move (TNI, Yasha Maccanico, Ben Hayes, Samuel Kenny, Frank Barat, September 2018) ----- Libya/elmasri: including full text of Shatz/Branco submission to the ICC against Italian ministers: ----- Secrecy: ----- Tunisia: ----- Deportations (aka returns): ----- Egypt: ----- “Outsourcing borders” externalisation bulletin project, bulletins and documents archive: ----- To challenge border militarisation (with partners, 2023/24), Telling the story of EU border militarisation, ----- Europe’s techno-borders (2023 with EuroMed Rights) ----- Frontex and interoperable databases: knowledge as power? (2023) ----- Empowering the police, removing protections: the new Europol Regulation (2022) ----- Interoperability, eu-LISA and the biometric state (2022) Building the biometric state: Police powers and discrimination ----- Background docs selection on interoperability and the EU JHA policy field ----- Secrecy and externalisation of EU border control (2022) ----- Renditions observatory
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Episode 67: Syria, Gaza, and European hostility to refugees
12/30/2024
Episode 67: Syria, Gaza, and European hostility to refugees
In this episode, we speak with Michaël Neuman from Doctors' Without Borders (MSF). He tells us about the charity's work in Syria, and how the fall of Bashar Assad's regime could affect this. We also discuss MSF's work in Gaza, Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinians and the fact that, unlike most conflicts, the people there have no escape. Michaël also tells us why MSF decided it needed to help asylum seekers in the UK, and why European governments have been far too quick to pause asylum claims for Syrians. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on MSF, visit: Follow MSF UK on Twitter here: Check out MSF Crash's website here: Michael refers to the cyclone which battered Mayotte in December. Read about MSF's work on teh Indian Ocean island here: For more on MSF's rescue ship, the Geo Barents, see here: AND, check out episode 14 of The Civil Fleet Podcast, with the ship's search-and-rescue team leader Riccardo Gatti and midwife Kira Smith. Listen to episode 21 also, with MSF UK advocacy officer Sophie McCann. This 2017 video by Vox is a fairly good summation of the differing sides in the Syrian Civil War: Here is an excellent speech by the late journalist Robert Fisk in 2016 on the Arab Spring, Egypt, Isis, Iraq and the West's role in the Middle East: Ben mentions a previous episode with Syrian refugee Hasan. Check out episode 25 of The Civil Fleet Podcast to hear that For more on MSF's work in Gaza, see here: Michael mentions an article in the Haaretz newspaper about Israeli soldiers killing any Palestinian person who crosses the Neztarim corridor. You can read that here: That article is behind a paywall, unfortunately, BUT you can read about it here (for free!) on Middle East Eye: Michael mentions the siege of Mosul. For more on that, see here: For more on MSF's work in the UK, particularly at the Wethersfield migrant containment centre, see here: For more on the conditions inside Britain's migrant containment centres, check out episode 32 with journalist Bethany Rielly (then home affairs reporter at the Morning Star newspaper, now a co-editor at the New Internationalist) For more on Doctors of the World, see here: Ben mentions his exclusive articles revealing the number of deaths in UK Home Office Accommodation in 2022 and 2023. Read that here:
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Episode 66: We found a child floating alone in the dark
12/24/2024
Episode 66: We found a child floating alone in the dark
In this episode, we speak with Katja and Matthias, co-founders of the refugee rescue group CompassCollective. They tell us how they operate their rescue ship, the Trotamar III, to document human rights violations and save lives in the central Mediterranean. They also tell us about the recent rescue of an 11-year-old-girl they found by chance floating alone at sea for 2 or 3 days. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on CompassCollective, see their website here: Follow them on Twitter: Mastodon: Facebook: Insta: And YouTube: For more on the Piantedosi Decree, see here: And/or check out episode 65 or The Civil Fleet Podcast For more on Sea-Watch and their reconnaissance planes, listen to episodes: 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1 For more on Alarm Phone, check out episodes 48, 5 and 3 For more on Maldusa, listen to episode 46
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Episode 65: ‘A pain in the ass to inhumane authorities’
11/24/2024
Episode 65: ‘A pain in the ass to inhumane authorities’
In this episode, we speak with Paul Wagner, the media officer for Sea-Watch's airborne operations. He tells us about the rescue organisation's reconnaissance missions over the central Mediterranean, the push and pullbacks they have witnessed at sea, and how the EU has refugee blood on its hands. He also tell us about the various ways the Italian government has tried to stop them from carrying out their human rights monitoring missions. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on Sea-Watch, visit: For more on the Seabirds 1 & 2, see here: Follow Sea-Watch on Twitter on Bluesky: Instagram: Also, check out episodes 43, 22, 7 and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Sea-Watch. Read more about Carola Rackete here: For more on SOS Humanity, see episodes 55 and 31 Read The Civil Fleet's coverage of Sea-Watch here: For more on the Matteo Salvini kidnapping trial. see: It was SOS Humanity who rescued one person at sea in late October. They were then forced to sail to the distant port of Salerno, 870km, away from where the rescue took place. Read more about that here: You can read Ben's interbiew with Sea-Watch's Tamino Bohm, here: For more on the sip captain Paul metions who was arrested for handing people over to the Libya, see here: The merchant shop Ben talks about was the Maersk Etienne. You can read about that saga here: For more on the Maersk Etienne case, check out episodes 18 and 47 Read about Malta's treatment of the civilian rescuers here: For more on the Pylos shipwreck, see Episodes 60 and 52 Paul mention's a testimony by Ibrahim Hsian, the son of Mohammed Hsian who drowned in the shipwreck of 2nd September 2024. You can read that here:
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Episode 64: Pingpong pushbacks at the Poland-Belarus border
11/15/2024
Episode 64: Pingpong pushbacks at the Poland-Belarus border
In this episode we speak with Ola, an activist from the Grupa Granica coalition in Poland about the situation for refugees, migrants and people-on-the-move at the country's border with Belarus. She tells us how border guards on both sides are mistreating people-on-the-move there, about the ping-pong pushbacks across the border, and how the country's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, plans to "temporarily" ban the human right to claim asylum. Ola also tells us about Grupa Granica's work supporting people-on-the-move with food, clothes and first aid, and how the authorities have treated the activists. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on Grupa Granica, see their Facebook page here: See their Instagram account here: For more on the Belarus border, see episode 33 with Dalia, an activist from the Lithuanian human rights and medical aid organisation, Sienos Grupe. Ola mention Alarm Phone. For more them, visit: , and find them on Twitter on And check out The Civil Fleet's episodes 48, 5 and 3. Read this France 24 news article on African people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine being mistreated by the Polish border guards: Read this FT article about the Afghans stuck at the Poland-Belarus border in 2021, here: And this Amnesty International article here: For more on the Ethiopian people who died at the Poland-Belarus border last year, see here: Read this Al Jazeera news report on the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans to temporarily suspend the human right to claim asylum here: Read about Finland's government also blocking the human right to claim asylum here: And this Amnesty International response to it: Ben mentions people in Europe being dubbed smugglers for giving food, water, first aid, etc to people-on-the-move. More examples of that can be found in episodes: 59, 58, 51, 50, 47, 46, 41, 37, 35, 28, 24, 20, 16, 13, 7, 4 and 2 Ola uses the phrase "Dublinned" in the episode. This is a reference to the EU's Dublin Agreement — which is essentially supposed to keep asylum seekers away from northern Europe. Check out this explainer video by The Guardian newspaper:
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Episode 63: ‘You feel like the most wanted criminal in the world’
10/04/2024
Episode 63: ‘You feel like the most wanted criminal in the world’
In this episode, we speak with Denny, a young refugee from Kashmir who was forced to flee his homeland almost 9 years ago. He is going to tell us about life in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, his journey through Europe, how he was mistreated by the authorities and supported by activists. We also talk about his time living in a squat in Bosnia, and how looking after a dog helped his mental state. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on the oppression in India-occupied Kashmir, see this 2019 Al Jazeera article: For more on Britain's partition of India, see this Ted Ed video here: For more on Britain's awful colonial rule of India, check out this video here: Read this BBC news story about the Indian army killing of Kashmiri activists in May: Ben mentions Klara in this interview. She was an activist with No Name Kitchen in Bosnia. Check out episodes 58 and 59 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Bosnia and No Name Kitchen Ben mentions Bihac, but doesn't explain where that is. Whoops. It's a small town in northwest Bosnia on the border with Croatia. Episodes 58 and 59 are there. Denny mentions Kurdistan. More more on them, check out this episode of Revolution and Ideology:
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Epsode 62: The UK's mistreatment of Albanian asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking
09/20/2024
Epsode 62: The UK's mistreatment of Albanian asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking
In this episode, we speak with Lauren Starkey, a campaigner and independent social worker who works with Albanian victims of human trafficking. Lauren is going to tell us how the British government decided that Albanian men shouldn't be granted asylum in the UK, even if they are victims of human trafficking. She tells us how this approach punishes victims of human trafficking, forces them to live in destitution, and threatens to send them back to an environment they were trafficked from. And we also have an addendum at the end of the episode, in which we talk about Labour's reported plans to end asylum seekers to Albania. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- You can follow Lauren Starkey on Twitter here: Lauren mentions the defunct (in the UK) charity Love 146. You can check out their US website here: For more on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), see here: Ben mentions a journalist trying to interview people as they cross the Channel. You can watch that here: For more on the UK, see episodes 61, 57, 49, 44, 42, 40, 39, 38, 32, 25, 21, 17 and 11 of The Civil Fleet Podcast. Check out Amnesty International's assessment on the Nationality and Borders' Act 2022, see here: See here for more on the UK government's legal battle with former Albanian president Berisha: Read this Guardian report on the children who went missing from Britain's migrant hotels: You can read about the British PM visit Italy's far-right PM Giorgia Meloni here: For more on Israel's Rwanda scheme, see here:
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Episode 61: Labour, immigration raids, and far-right riots
08/10/2024
Episode 61: Labour, immigration raids, and far-right riots
In this episode, we speak with Dan Sohege, director of the human rights advocacy organisation Stand For All. We've a new government here in the UK. So I thought it'd be a good idea to ask Dan to give us his analysis of the Labour's plans for asylum seekers. Dan tells us how Labour's plans to increase immigration raids will only make things worse for victims of trafficking. We also discuss the recent far-right riots happening across Britain and Northern Ireland, and how our media and politicians bear much of the blame for the violence. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- Follow Dan Sohege on Twitter: For more on Stand for All, visit: Ben mentions a website where you can see a decade's worth of headlines on immigration. You can see that here: Check out episode 44 of The Civil Fleet Podcast with Reclaim the Sea for more on the Bibby Stockholm Ben mentions episode 49 with Paul O'Connor from the Public and Commerical Services (PCS) union in this episode. Check that out. For more episodes focused on the UK, see episodes 57, 49, 44, 42, 40, 39, 38, 32, 25, 21, 17 and 11. Check out this story on the UK Border Force carrying out push back training: Read more about UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's comments on Bangladeshi asylum seekers here: Corporate Watch have a story here on the state of the hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK: For more on the Southport murders and the far-right conspiracies that set off the riots in Britain, see here: Dan mentions a far right protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Knowsley last year. Read about that here:
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Episode 60: Pylos Shipwreck – The Greek coastguards watched them drown
07/26/2024
Episode 60: Pylos Shipwreck – The Greek coastguards watched them drown
In today's episode, we speak with Spyros, from the Free Pylos 9 campaign. He's going to tell us more about the Pylos Shipwreck, how the authorities refused to help the 750 people on the small fishing boat, and how it sank on June 14, 2023, when the Greek coastguards tried to tow it. Only 104 of the 750 people survived. Spyros also tells us about the nine survivors who were used as scapegoats for the disaster and jailed, about the campaign to free them, and how they were treated once they were acquitted. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on Free Pylos 9, see their website here: Follow the Free Pylos 9 campaign on Twitter here: Find them on Instagram: For more background on the Pylos shipwreck and the 9 criminalised survivors, read this article by the Human Rights Legal Project: Spyros mentions the Captain Support Network. Check them out here: He also mentioned the Justice for Pylos campaign. Check out their website (in Greek) here: For more on The Civil Fleet's coverage of the Pylos Shipwreck, see here: Check out episodes 3, 4, 9, 16, 25, 26, 28, 35, 52, 53, and 56 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Greece Ben mention Lighthouse Reports and their investigation into the Pylos Shipwreck. You can read that here: Check out Solomon's coverage of the shipwreck here: For more on Alarm Phone visit: , and find them on Twitter on . You can read Alarm Phone's timeline of the shipwreck here: Oh, and by the way, Hellas is Greece in Greek, and therefore the Greek coastguard are also called the Hellenic Coastguard.
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Episode 59: Solidarity in Bosnia (Part 2)
06/13/2024
Episode 59: Solidarity in Bosnia (Part 2)
In this episode, we go back to the border town of Bihac, in Bosnia, to see how the solidarity network No Name Kitchen (NNK) supports People on the Move there. In Part 2 of this miniseries on Bosnia, we'll near more from NNK's volunteers in Bosnia, and also from the refugees/migrants/People on the Move who are trapped in the Balkan country. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on No Name Kitchen, see their website here: Follow NNK on Twitter via Follow them on Instagram: And listen to episodes 58 Part 2, 51, 41, and 6 of The Civil Fleet Podcast. Want to know where Bihac is exactly? Check out this map: Ben mentions border guards forcing people-on-the-move to stay inside hot cars as a form of punishment. For more on this practice, see this story by Lighthouse Reports: And check out Episode 34 of The Civil Fleet Podcast with Klaas van Dijken, one of the co-founders of Lighthouse Reports Check out a film called Shadow Game for more on the term the game:
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Episode 58: Solidarity in Bosnia (Part 1)
06/08/2024
Episode 58: Solidarity in Bosnia (Part 1)
In April, I went to Bihac, a small town in Bosnia near the border with Croatia, to see how the solidarity network No Name Kitchen (NNK) supports People on the Move there. In this episode, NNK's volunteers in Bihac will tell us how they provide first aid, food and clothing to the People on the Move there, and how they document border violence. We'll also talk with a few of the people trapped in Bosnia, who'll tell us about their journeys to the Balkan country, and the abuses they have faced from border guards at the edge of Fortress Europe. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on No Name Kitchen, see their website here: Follow NNK on Twitter via Follow them on Instagram: And listen to episodes 58 Part 2, 51, 41, and 6 of The Civil Fleet Podcast. Want to know where Bihac is exactly? Check out this map: Joe mentions the IWGB union. For more on them, check them out here: Joe also mentions Sea-Watch, one of the bigger refugee rescue groups operating in the Mediterranean. For more on them, see: And check out episodes 54, 43, 22, 7, and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Sea-Watch, too. You can read Joe's article on the Chinese person he meet in Bosnia, here:
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Episode 57: People power vs the UK's Rwanda scheme
05/07/2024
Episode 57: People power vs the UK's Rwanda scheme
In this episode we speak with Agustina Oliveri, campaigns manager at the UK-based human rights organisation, Free from Torture. Agustina talks to us about Freedom from Tortures' brilliant campaigns against the British government's plans to exile asylum-seekers to Rwanda by targeting the airlines that are willing to do the government's dirty work. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on Freedom from Torture, see: Check them out on Twitter, here: Or On Instagram, here: Join Freedom from Torture's campaign calling on Jet2 and AirTanker to stand on the right side of history: Check out this video of Agustina on the phone with Jet2 about the Rwanda scheme: Check out this video of Freedom from Torture presenting Privilege Style with the Worst Airline of the Year Award in 2022: Watch Freedom from Torture's video of Joan, a Holocaust survivor, confronting Suella Braverman on her hateful language here: Here's a photo of Freedom from Torture crashing the Real Madrid vs Barcelona FC match in 2022 with a message about the Rwanda Scheme. Read The Civil Fleet's exclusive story on the 40 people who died in Home Office asylum-seeker accommodation in 2023: Read The Civil Fleet's stories on the UK's Rwanda scheme: Read the UN statement condemning the UK's Rwanda scheme: For more on Samos Volunteers, see here: For more on the Bibby Stockholm, check out Episode 44 with Reclaim the Sea For more on the UK holding asylum-seekers on former military bases, check out Episode 32 with journalist Bethany Rielly Check out Episode 42, with journalist Nicola Kelly, on asylum seekers being abused and intimidated by staff at Home Office hotels. Ben mentioned the Australian policy of exiling asylum seekers to an island nation, but couldn't remember which. It was Nauru. Read this Amnesty International investigation exposing the abuse of refugees there: Read about the direct action in the courts and in the streets which stopped the first deportation flight to Rwanda: Read this 2023 Human Rights Watch report on the UK Supreme Court finding the UK-Rwanda scheme unlawful: Here's a video of British cops rounding up people set to be deported to Rwanda: Here's the Home Office's video of cops rounding up people set to be exiled to Rwanda: Read this story in The National on the government of Belize denying it is negotiating with the UK over its inhumane deportation policy: Here's a video of people preventing a deportation raid in Peckham, southeast London on May 2, 2024:
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Episode 56: Free Homayoun
04/13/2024
Episode 56: Free Homayoun
In this episode we speak with Kiana, Anne, Mahtab and Hannah from the Free Homayoun campaign. Homayoun Sabetara, a widower and father of two, fled Iran to reunite with his daughters in Germany in 2021. Mahtab is one of his daughters. Along the way, Homayoun was forced to drive a car carrying several others across the Greece-Turkey border. He was arrested in Greece, charged with human smuggling, and sentenced to 18 years behind bars at a trial conducted without interpreters. Kiana, Anne, Mahtab and Hannah tell us more about Homayoun's case, his upcoming appeal on April 22, and how Europe's systematic criminalisation of people on the move. ---Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more details on the Free Homayoun campaign, visit: Follow the Homayoun campaign on social media: Instagram Twitter: Mastodon: Anne and Hannah mention the Seebrucke movement. For more on that, see: Borderline Europe is also mentioned in this episode. For more on that organisation, see here: Ben makes frequent reference to the Iuventa crew in this episode. If you don't know who they are and/or want to know more about them, see epiosde 54 and read here: For more on the Samos 2, see episode 26. Incidentally, Dimitris Choulis who is interviewed in that episode, is also Homayoun Sabetara's lawyer. For more on the criminalisation of people on the move, see episodes 53, 48, 35, 29, 28, 26 and more. Ben mentions Sean Binder & Sara Mandini, Check out episode 16 for more on them.
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Episode 55: The Libyan Coastguards shot at us
03/29/2024
Episode 55: The Libyan Coastguards shot at us
In this episode, we speak with Camilla from the refugee rescue organisation SOS Humanity. She tells us about the time the so-called Libyan Coastguard shot at them, disrupting a rescue operation in the central Mediterranean, and causing the death of at least one person in early March 2024. She also tells us how, after that ordeal, the Italian authorities then ordered the Humanity 1 rescue ship to sail for a port, thousands of miles away. And how, when they finally reached land, the authorities tried to detain the ship because they apparently disobeyed the Libyan Coastguards. --Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on SOS Humanity, check out their website, here: You can donate to them here: Follow SOS Humanity on Twitter: You can watch video footage of the Libyan Coastguard's interference of the Humanity 1 rescue, here: Check out episode 31 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on the Humanity 1 rescue ship Also, read more about SOS Humanity on The Civil Fleet news blog, here: Ben mentions Mediterranea: Saving Humans and their rescue ship, the Mare Jonio. For more on them, check out episodes 18 and 47 of The Civil Fleet Podcast Ben mentions a trip to Trapani and the Iuventa rescuers. Check out the previous episode of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on that, and check out episodes 2, 24 and 36 Camilla mentions fellow refugee rescue organisation SOS Mediterranee. For more on them, see here: Fore more on the Libyan Coastguards, see here: And read this exclusive story on the EU continuing its support of the Libyan Coastguard despite its fears of human rights abuses: And this 2020 investigation on how the EU’s supposed training of the Libyan coastguard has only made things worse: Camilla mentions Alarm Phone. Want to know more about them? Check out episodes 48, 5 and 3. Read about Italy's top court declaring Libya not to be a safe port: Read about the Libyan Coastguards harassing MSF's rescue ship Geo Barents here: And watch this video of another incident: Ben mentions the Pirate History Podcast. Check that out here: You can read SOS Humanity, Sea-Watch and Sea-Eye's joint statement on the detention of their ships in March 2024, here:
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Episode 54: Solidarity And Resistance
03/19/2024
Episode 54: Solidarity And Resistance
Activists aboard the Iuventa rescue ship saved the lives of over 14,000 people in the central Mediterranean between 2016 and 2017. Based on dodgy allegations from a security guard with links to the far right, the Italian secret services began spying on the Iuventa crew in September 2016. The Italian authorities seized the Iuventa in August 2017, and initially warned 10 members of the crew that they were under investigation for human smuggling. But in March 2021, only four of them were charged with “aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy.” The four are Kathrin Schmidt, Dariush Beigui, Sascha Girke and Uli Tröder. The preliminary hearing began in May 2022, and has been marred by the prosecution’s many procedural errors and a lack of proper translation for the German defendants. At the end of February 2024, Ben Cowles went to Trapani, on the Italian island of Sicily, to cover what was hoped to be the end of the pretrial. In this episode we interview Dariush and Sascha, two of the Iuventa four, on the day the prosecution gave up. We speak with Elisa De Pieri from Amnesty International, Allison West from ECCHR, former Iuventa crewmate and Die Linke Party candidate Lea Reisner, and Mediterranea: Saving Humans' head of operations Beppe Caccia. We also hear from the Iuventa's lawyers Nicola Canestrini and Francesca Cancellaro about the absurdity of the charges brought against the activists. --Get in touch--- Twitter: Twitter: @FleetCivil Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- Check out The Civil Fleet's previous episodes with Iuventa crew members: • Episode 2 with Sascha Girke • Episode 24 with Kathrin Schmidt • Episode 36 with one of their lawyers Francesca Cancellaro Read all about the Iuventa on The Civil Fleet blog, here: Read about Italy's top court declaring Libya not to be a safe port: You can read the full European Ombudsman's findings on Frontex's operations, here: Or you can read a news story about it, here: For more on the ECCHR, listen to episode 15 of The Civil Fleet Podcast with Silvia Rojas-Castro, a legal advisor at the ECCHR, and Elise Flecher, a senior programmes officer at Lawyers for Justice in Libya Allison mentions UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawler. You can read about her intervention in the Iuventa case, here: And on The Civil Fleet, here: You can read the latest ECCHR report on the Iuventa pretrial, here: A few times in the episode, Ben mentions a man, Ibrahima Bah, who was prosecuted in the UK for driving a boat across the Chanel. You can read about him in the Guardian newspaper, here: Read Ben's written interview with Lea Reisner on The Civil Fleet, here: Read about former Frontex boss Fabrice Leggeri joining the far right in France: Read about UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joining a protest organised by a climate conspiracy group last month: For more on Mediterranea: Saving Humans and the Maersk Etienne, check out episodes 18 and 47 of The Civil Fleet Podcast Read about the Maersk Etienne, here:
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Episode 53: ‘Sink or you're a smuggler’
02/25/2024
Episode 53: ‘Sink or you're a smuggler’
IN THIS episode we speak with Nadia, a young refugee woman from Lebanon, and Alexandros, a Greek human rights lawyer. Nadia tells us how she and her husband Dawood were forced to leave Lebanon by boat, how they spent over 10 days at sea, and how, once they were rescued, Dawood was arrested by the Greek authorities and accused of human smuggling. Alexandros tells us how he and his colleague Dmitris won the legal case against Dawood, and tells us more about the unjust EU directive that is locking up refugees. --Get in touch--- Twitter: Mastodon: Bluesky: Instagram: info@civilfleet.com Support: ---Show Notes--- For more on Dawood's case, read this article by the Human Rights Legal Project Check the Human Rights Legal Project out here: For more on the situation in Lebanon following the 2020 explosion, read this Guardian report: Check out The Civil Fleet's previous interview with Alexandros about the Samos 2: And here's the interview Alexandros helped set up with Hanad Abdi Mohammad, a Somalian refugee who was sentenced to 142 years behind bars because he momentarily steered a boat: Want to see what Malta's search-and-rescue zone looks like? See the July-August 2022 issue of ECHOES from the Central Mediterranean: Here's the UK Home Office's tweet of Ibrahima Bah, who was criminalised for steering a dinghy which collapsed in the Channel: For more on Ibrahima Bah, read this statement by Captain Support UK: And this news report by Sky News: For more on the Maersk Etienne, read about it here: And check out episode 18 of The Civil Fleet Podcast with Iason Apostolopoulos, who talks about it in that interview:
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