AYS News Digest: Secret unofficial police WhatsApp group for pushbacks included Croatia’s top officials
Thirty-two people rescued from island of Lampione // The UK’s restrictive policies are being copied from Australia // Pre-election removal of people on the move from Istanbul // & more news, reports and long reads we recommend
FEATURE — The Croatian police’s well-documented pushback campaign is clearly being directed from within the Ministry of Interior
Head of the Croatian border police, Zoran Ničeno (who would have been fired a long time ago had the responsible officials taken into account the multiple reports, testimonies and findings of NGOs, international committees, and even police union) and the head of the public relations department Jelena Bikić (who reports directly to the MOI) were among the 33 people from the Ministry of Interior who formed an unofficial chat group where information on apprehended foreigners in the border area were exchanged, plans shared and coined, all the while avoiding official procedures and transparent police work.
Through a collaboration among Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, Nova TV, Novosti, Telegram and ORF, evidence was obtained in the form of leaked WhatsApp communications of the Croatian police, indicating what most of us already wrote, said, knew or had suspicions about, that is, that the actions of the Croatian police in the areas of the green border were ordered, coordinated and organised with the knowledge of those in charge (despite what the Ministry of Interior said after previously video documented cases that they couldn’t dispute, so they claimed the officers worked alone).
The WhatsApp group sat outside any official means of communication and away from the usual monitoring procedures, and there are strong indications that the foreign nationals referenced in the messages went on to become subject to illegal pushbacks, concludes the team of reporters.
Messages clearly mentioning deterrences, meaning pushbacks, indicate that illegal pushbacks were in fact taking place.
The group was also used to exchange information about journalists visiting the border area, sharing their photos and “keeping an eye on them” in a way.
TUNISIA
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights criticizes repressive migration and security approaches at the level of both Tunisia and the EU, as reported by ANSA, and now there are more voices rising to support Tunisia in this situation.
SEARCH AND RESCUE AT SEA
Thirty-two people rescued from island of Lampione
A group of people from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali, including a child, were stranded on a desert island in the central Mediterranean and were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard. They were reportedly all taken by helicopter to Lampedusa.
GREECE
A ridiculously delayed trial sees a very small result
Six years after the incident on Lesvos, two Mytileneans were sentenced to four months in prison each for unlawful violence against a journalist, following the evacuation of Sappho Square when a group of Afghan asylum seekers were protesting. An accredited journalist who came to cover the events was harassed by the group of extremists and it took six years for the trial to even take place, ending in a bizarre decision, while many other attacks on journalists have not yet been processed.
Find out more.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA / CROATIA
The mass deportations to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which we reported about some days ago, continue. Find a more detailed report on BVMN page.
However, returns are also happening in Croatia. Only on Tuesday, 171 people were brought to the asylum centre Porin in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, most of whom had been sent back from Austria.
Many “Dublin cases” continue coming from Switzerland, which amounts to a whole other context and story we are picking up on and will report more about soon.
FRANCE
The French police pointed a gun at two members of Utopia 56 during a raid near Calais, the team reported.
In Paris, an unused school in the 16th district served as a provisional space to accommodate and protect minors in need of a shelter, but can’t be a permanent solution, reported activists, calling for a plan.
GERMANY
Germany welcomed 32 survivors from a migrant shipwreck which took place towards the end of February off southern Italy, near the Calabrian town of Cutro.
Twenty-eight Afghans, two Syrians, one Iraqi and one Somali will join their relatives already living in Germany.
UK
A barge, named as the Bibby Stockholm in the British press, could be about to become the temporary home of about 500 people who crossed the Channel, if leaked Home Office reports are correct.
Updates on the planned project previously reported in AYS News Digest:
Asylum seekers to be housed on Dorset barge despite local opposition
UK policies to deter people from claiming asylum
WORTH READING
- UK Joins Global Race to the Bottom on Migration | Human Rights Watch — A sobering insight into policies that have resulted in horrendous human suffering, even death. That the UK knows this, but refuses to change course, is perhaps most shocking of all.
- Better Solutions Needed for Migrant Workers’ Makeshift Settlements in Italy
- Over the years, the UK has introduced numerous policies to make seeking asylum in the UK less attractive. Most recently, 2021 to 2023 have seen the UK government propose measures designed explicitly to deter people from seeking asylum in the UK. This briefing note brings together statistics and research evidence to inform discussion about these policy measures: UK policies to deter people from claiming asylum — Migration Observatory — The Migration Observatory.
- Inclusion initiative in the Netherlands puts refugees and Germans under the same roof: Story by InfoMigrants.
- The removal of unregistered Syrians from Istanbul is shattering the sense of security and stability many refugees thought they’d achieved in Turkey: Turkey’s relocation of Syrian refugees threatens to split families apart.
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