AYS Daily Digest 09/03/2021: Guilty verdict for two in Moria fire trial
Small fire in new Lesvos camp // People freed from detention in Libya // Shipwrecks off Tunisia // Evros border fence nears completion // Raids in Romanian city // Rescue in the Canaries // Extension of ban on food distro in Calais
FEATURE: Guilty verdict in Moria fire trial—and another fire
Monday night marked the six-month anniversary of the massive fire that engulfed Moria camp on Lesvos, when the camp was burnt nearly completely to the ground and almost 13,000 people were forced into homelessness overnight. We all know the situation hasn’t improved drastically since then. In those initial days after the fire, people were abandoned outside on the road to Mytilene for days, hemmed in by police blockades and angry community members who wanted them gone, and prevented from accessing food, water, hygiene services and proper shelter. Then, a new camp was built to host them, however, the camp infrastructure and services were woefully inadequate. And although thousands have been transferred off the island since September, they have only been met with homelessness on the mainland. There is no cause for celebration until everyone is able to leave Moria, and safe passage and legal pathways to asylum are established and enshrined.
In yesterday’s digest we wrote that a trial had begun in a court in Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos, against two of the six people (the so-called ‘Moria 6,’ all former camp residents) facing charges of arson “with danger to human life.” These two people were minors when they were arrested, aged only 17, and have been held in detention for the past six months, the maximum length of detention for a minor, according to Legal Centre Lesvos, who represented them in court.
The trial was closed to the public, as the men were minors at the time of the crime. There were also reports of a heavy police presence throughout the trial, as well as Covid-19 social distancing restrictions in place.
The verdict was swift. A mere six hours after the trial commenced, the three-member Juvenile Court of Mytilene delivered its verdict: guilty on the charge of arson, but not guilty on the charge of membership in a criminal group. The two 18-year-olds will spend five years in prison, including time served, most likely in Avlona prison for minors and young adults, north of Athens.
The defendants’ lawyers have appealed the ruling.
In a press release following the verdict, Legal Centre Lesvos raises serious concerns about the credibility of the evidence and eyewitness testimony presented in court against the defendants. One of their concerns is the inappropriate use of witnesses:
The only prosecution witness who identified or provided individualised evidence against the second defendant did not appear in court today. Nevertheless, the prosecution was permitted to read out his written declaration during the trial, despite the defendant’s lawyers’ objection that this violated the defendant’s right to cross examine any witness against him, a fundamental right of criminal defendants confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights.
Furthermore, the defense was only permitted to call one witness per defendant, even though more than ten people from the Hazara community (an Afghan ethnic group to which all six defendants belong) were present at court and willing to testify. “While, technically, the state is only obliged to allow one witness per defendant, it is clear that the law is used against migrants when convenient, and ignored when it is not,” the press release read.
The ruling was sobering, but the legal team pointed out that the men could have been sentenced to ten years on the arson charge, and faced 15 years had they also been convicted of membership in a criminal group.
Nevertheless, Legal Centre Lesvos strongly condemned the ruling:
The trial of these two members of the Moria 6 constitutes a gross miscarriage of justice. The tragic result of today’s trial appears to form part of a systematic effort to crush any resistance to Europe’s border regime through collective punishment, by arbitrarily arresting and pressing criminal charges against migrants following migrant-led resistance…
Messages of support also came from other watchdogs and activists:
Meanwhile, as the arson trial continued in the courtroom, another, much smaller fire broke out in the new camp yesterday morning.
It appears that only two tents belonging to four families were damaged in the blaze, and no one was injured. While that is certainly a tragedy for those four families, it is extremely lucky that the fire did not cause more destruction. Numerous small fires have broken out since the new camp was constructed, many of them due to electrical wiring problems. The camp was built hastily and evidently poorly, with little thought or respect for human life and decency.
Now those four families are back to square one.
For everyone in the camp, the psychological effects of yet another fire are severe. Many people, especially children, are reported to still be experiencing ongoing psychological stressors related to the destructive fire of six months ago. As long as the camp continues to experience electrical problems and fires break out, people will only sink deeper into psychological distress, which will largely remain unaddressed due to the lack of qualified mental health experts working in the camp. Children especially will carry these memories for the rest of their lives.
LIBYA
70 people freed from secret torture prisons
A total of 70 people were freed last week from six secret prisons in the Libyan town of Bani Walid infamous for the use of torture, according to local media.
The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) praised the operation of the 444th Brigade last Friday, March 5, in Bani Walid, which resulted in the liberation of some 70 people-on-the-move and the arrest of several of their traffickers. Bani Walid, some 100 kilometers south of Tripoli, is a well-known hub for human trafficking.
“The NCHRL stressed the significance of fighting organized crime gangs, particularly those involved in human trafficking and migrant smuggling,” media reported. “It reiterated that the tracing of the human smuggler networks was paramount in order to subvert and prosecute those responsible within the organized gangs in Libya and in the western region in particular.”
It appears that in recent months Libya has stepped up its usually weak efforts to combat human trafficking. In February 350 people, including over 100 children, were freed from a secret prison in southeastern Libya. In early March, Libyan authorities arrested a man accused of murdering 30 people, mostly from Bangladesh, last year.
SEA
Two shipwrecks off Tunisia
Yet another deadly day in the Mediterranean. Among the 39 dead were 4 children, according to media.
Sea Watch 4 arrives in Burriana
GREECE
Open letter to Greek authorities on right to children’s education
Dozens of organizations have signed an open letter sent to Greek and EU authorities expressing “deep concern” about children-on-the-move’s access to education in Greece.
The letter was sent to Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Greece’s minister of Education and Religious Affairs, President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commissioners for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, and the European Commissioner for Justice and Consumers.
The letter begins:
The undersigned organisations express deep concern about the situation relating to asylum seeking and refugee children’s access to education in Greece over the past few years. Specifically, for the past six years it has not been possible to guarantee smooth and unimpeded access to education for asylum seeking children. As a result, the majority of these children have been deprived of one of their fundamental rights. These issues have become so intense over the last year that one can in fact refer to an extensive process of “deschooling.”
Update on pregnant mother charged with arson after suicide attempt
Legal Centre Lesvos has released an update in the case of the pregnant Afghan mother who attempted suicide by fire on February 21, and was subsequently charged with arson. She has been released pending further legal action, on the condition that she remain in Greece, according to the press release.
Tereza Volakaki, the Legal Centre Lesvos attorney who represented the woman, known as M.M., in her preliminary hearing said the following:
Pressing criminal charges in response to a suicide attempt appears to be part of the Greek state’s broader practice of framing migrants as criminals and threats, in order to distract from the state’s own liability for the violent, inhuman and degrading treatment of migrants in Lesvos and other ‘hotspot’ Aegean islands.
Those in solidarity with migrants must continue to publicly denounce the unjust and tragic consequences of this treatment, and support migrants who are trapped on the Greek islands in inhumane conditions which have been denounced for years as a mental health emergency.
Evros river border fence nears completion
Remember one of Greece’s senseless attempts to fortify its borders—the border fence along the Evros river, which divides Greece from Turkey? (Nothing, however, will ever supersede in stupidity the ‘floating sea barrier’ off Lesvos.) Well, construction is going to plan, and it seems the wall will be erected by April this year.
The 27-kilometer-long and five-meters-high steel wall will run in three sections and cost…63 million EUR. Eight watchtowers will run along the wall to guard the border, according to media.
A 12-kilometer-long border fence, completed at the end of 2012 near the town of Kastanies, in Greece, is also being reinforced. Its height will increase from 3.5 to 4.3 meters.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis signed the contract with four Greek construction companies on August 31, saying the wall was “the least we can do to make citizens feel safe.”
On the ground story from No Name Kitchen in Patras
ROMANIA
Dreptul la Oraș, an activist organization in Timișoara, has relayed news of a massive roundup of people-on-the-move in the city following a newly-announced Covid-19 lockdown. On March 8, the government declared a full lockdown and authorities raided the living spaces of people-on-the-move, many of whom live on the streets or in abandoned buildings, and brought them to quarantine centers. The pictures of the centers show filthy, overcrowded living spaces that are not fit to house anyone, and certainly not fit to house people who need to be social distancing during a pandemic.
“We call on local and national authorities to urgently ensure fundamental human rights of men. We call on local and national authorities to open negotiations with the European Union to create a legal corridor so that migrants and refugees can reach their destination country desired,” the group wrote in their Facebook post.
SPAIN
A rescue, and five deaths, off the Canaries
At least five people have died while trying to reach the Canaries in a boat yesterday. Salvamento Marítimo, Spain’s search and rescue agency, rescued some 47-48 people, still alive, and brought them to port in Arguineguín, on Gran Canaria.
Only one body was found on the boat, according to media. Survivors say that four other people perished on the journey, but their bodies were not found aboard. Two of the survivors were taken to the hospital for minor injures.
At least 2,000 people lost their lives trying to reach the Canary Islands last year.
Some 60 people play the dangerous ‘game’ in Melilla
Dozens of people try each year to scale the border fence into Melilla, Spain, one of two autonomous Spanish cities that constitute Europe’s only land borders with Africa. Many die trying.
In the second major attempt this year, 59 people-on-the-move successfully climbed over the six-meter-high fence separating Morocco from Spain, Africa from Europe, on Monday, March 8, according to media. A total of around 150 people made the attempt, and two of them, plus three officers of Spain’s Civil Guard paramilitary force, suffered minor injuries.
The 59 people will be held in quarantine in Spain and tested for Covid-19, media reported.
In mid-January, 87 people successfully made the crossing.
More than 450 people have made the crossing into Melilla and Ceuta, the other Spanish enclave, this year, according to UNHCR. Some 200 of those crossings were over land.
FRANCE
Calais ban on food distro is extended
In yet another effort to squash solidarity efforts and cause more suffering to people-on-the-move, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture announced on Monday that they would extend the ban on the distribution of meals to migrants in the areas of downtown Calais, as well as in the Beau-Marais district, media reported.
The ban, which has been in force since September 11, is now extended until at least April 6.
Only associations with a state mandate can deliver food. La Vie Active, the only organization with such a mandate, delivers an average of 967 meals per day, which other organizers say is not enough.
One volunteer with the ‘Salam’ assocation told InfoMigrants that they are still handing out meals, although they often have run-ins with authorities.
“Fortunately, this new extension is identical to the previous one. No new street or zone has been added by the prefect, so we will continue where it is authorized for us,” she told InfoMigrants. Last weekened ‘Salam’ handed out more than 700 breakfasts to hungry people.
“This extension is part of a policy of harassment of caregivers,” Pierre Roques, coordinator of Utopia 56, told InfoMigrants. He called the ban’s extension “one more meanness.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Care4Calais: call for volunteers in Liverpool
The organization Care4Calais has put out a call for volunteers in Liverpool.
As a Care4Calais volunteer, you might be collecting donations in your local area and distributing them to those in need, accompanying someone to an appointment or helping them learn English, or running leisure activities such as walks or football games.
To volunteer in Liverpool email annie@care4calais.org.
EU/FRONTEX
How events on Melilla’s border fence are being used to justify pushbacks in the north Aegean
A sharp analysis published in the EUObserver shows just to what depths Frontex and Fabrice Leggeri will sink to justify their flouting of international law.
In hearings at the European Parliament last week, Leggeri referenced a seven-year-old case in Melilla as justification that Frontex officers can summarily push people back to Turkey in the north Aegean.
“The court said Spain had no obligation to offer them access to an asylum procedure,” Leggeri offered in Parliament.
Back in August 2014, several hundred people tried to scale the fences in Melilla to reach Spain. Two men were captured by Spanish police and brought back to Morocco in what is known as a “collective pushback” or a “collective expulsion.” Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the forced return was not illegal.
Now, Leggeri is saying that the same logic can be used on pushbacks in the Aegean, where many people aboard a dinghy are pushed back as a group while trying to cross into Europe, with the border force often using excessive violence. The European Commission, however, says the cases are different in a number of ways, most notably in the difference between land and sea pushbacks.
Nora Markard, a professor of International Public Law and International Human Rights at the University of Münster, is also not convinced by Leggeri.
“You cannot simply send them back without examining their individual cases,” she said of the people arriving on boats from Turkey.
“With no one to take the blame [for pushbacks], and a European Commission unable to hold Frontex to account, the interpretation of EU rules is being used to further muddy the waters,” the article reads.
Frontex Working Group updates
Interrogation trainings for Frontex
Statewatch has obtained a document that reveals fourteen Frontex officers have been trained on “Interrogation, questioning and debriefing tactics” and “How to recruit an informant” as part of a plan for “a long-term increase in the flow of incoming intelligence related information.”
The five-day training was conducted by a private security company, Chenega Europe, and comes with a 40,000 EUR price tag. Chenega Europe is based in Northern Ireland and run by ex-British military personnel, according to Statewatch.
The course was primarily aimed at “debriefing advisers and operational analysts” from Frontex’s Risk Analysis Unit, according to the document.
Additionally, the document makes mention of Frontex’s new ‘standing corps’ who are expected to “lead to a long-term increase of the flow of incoming intelligence related information.”
In October 2020 Statewatch reported that Greece had recruited undocumented people-on-the-move to work as undercover agents, collecting information that was later used to help launch a criminal investigation into four NGOs.
WORTH READING
New CoE report on Mediterranean
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights has released a new report, “A distress call for human rights: The widening gap in migrant protection in the Mediterranean.”
For years, European countries have engaged in a race to the bottom to keep people in need of our protection outside our borders, with dire consequences. Their response to refugees and migrants trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean is one of the most glaring examples of how bad migration policies undercut human rights law and have cost the lives of thousands of human beings in the process.
Red Cross report on Covid-19 care and vaccines for people-on-the-move
The EU office of the Red Cross has released a new report, “Locked down and left out? Why access to basic services for migrants is critical to our COVID-19 response and recovery.”
New research on women-on-the-move and sex workers
Led by three female reseachers, a new research intiative from the Danish Institute for International Studies entitled “BorderImages: Migration, Trafficking & Rescue” will conduct field work “among, and with, undocumented migrant women en route from West Africa to Europe’s Southern borders; In red light districts among trafficked women and migrant sex workers from and in Thailand, and among tech companies and NGOs on the US Westcoast working to rescue migrants through business-humanitarian solutions.”
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