Joint statement regarding the situation in the Central Mediterranean
Urgent warning: Increased deaths at sea, NGO vessels detained – European states must stop obstructing civilian search and rescue efforts in the Central Mediterranean
Urgent warning: Increased deaths at sea, NGO vessels detained – European states must stop obstructing civilian search and rescue efforts in the Central Mediterranean
In the port city of Sfax in Tunisia, refugees are pursued, attacked, arrested and abandoned in the desert by the Tunisian National Guard and citizens (incited by the Tunisian government). Without water, without food. Men, women, children, pregnant women.
The lawyers of the relatives of the missing persons of the deadly shipwreck in Pylos, Maria Papamina (Greek Council for Refugees), Eleni Spathana (Support for Refugees in the Aegean) and Yannis Kastanos, came to the Prosecutor's Office of Kalamata today and submitted on their behalf a request for the lifting of the ship and the recovery of the bodies from the seabed.
14 people held in a van with their hands tied and eyes taped shut on the island of Kos, Greece, only to be push-baked. This was shown in the video published by Aegean Boat Report last week.
Up to 600 people drown off Pylos, Greece - only days after EU leaders agreed to further erode the right to asylum Open letter by over 180 human rights organizations and initiatives together with Tima Kurdi, aunt of Alan Kurdi.
Did the Greek Coast Guard try to pull the boat out of Greek waters before it capsized? Journalists are not allowed to enter the hall where the survivors of Wednesday's shipwreck are located. But deputies were able to talk to them. According to former MEP Kriton Arsenis, they told that the Greek Coast Guard towed the overcrowded fishing boat before it capsized.
On the 17th of May, Greek authorities announced that starting the next day food and water would no longer be provided for people outside of the asylum procedure living in the Lesvos Closed Controlled Access Centre (C.C.A.C.).
A boat with 750 asylum seekers on board capsized just outside Pylos, Greece. The ship was sailing from Libya towards Italy. So far, only about 100 people have been rescued, hundreds are still missing - it could be one of the deadliest shipping accidents ever. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and survivors.
Unlawful refoulement of refugees does not only happen at the EU's external borders. The right to protection and asylum is also being trampled on at Germany's southern borders: For example, several NGOs have now jointly highlighted six meticulously documented cases of Syrian war survivors who were apprehended during police checks in Freilassing, Passau and Munich and subsequently illegally repatriated to Austria.
Italy declared a state of emergency last week because of a recent increase in refugee arrivals. A fascist government that can now implement faster procedures and measures and override existing regulations - to fear.