Archive
“Größte Bedrohung”: EU-Ratsspitze will anonyme SIM-Karten EU-weit verbieten
Heise, 24 March 2025. Read More
EU officials discuss banning anonymous use of mobile phones
The Polish government has suggested new EU rules to ban the anonymous purchase of prepaid SIM cards for mobile phones.“The main threat associated with prepaid SIM cards is anonymity,” says a document obtained by Statewatch. Extensive research has found no evidence that bans on anonymous purchases of SIM cards contribute to reducing crime. Read More
Call to reject new EU laws that “criminalise migrants and human rights defenders”
An open letter to the EU demands action to end the criminalisation of migrants and those who stand in solidarity with them. More than 100 signatories, including Statewatch, condemn proposed reforms to EU laws on migrant smuggling and call for an urgent change of approach. Read More
Film screening: Ultraviolence
Ultraviolence documents the struggles for justice by families of people killed by police in the UK. The screening is in support of the forthcoming People's Tribunal on Police Killings (PTPK). A speaker from the PTPK will be in attendance for a discussion session after the screening. Read More
Italy: The end of the systematic denial of data protection rights?
Italy has been systematically denying people access to data about them stored in Europe’s largest policing and immigration database, statistics obtained by Statewatch show. Much of the data in question concerns entry bans and deportations orders. Knowing what information is stored is vital for peoples’ livelihoods and even their survival. EU institutions have known for years that mechanisms for the protection of individual rights were lacking. Now, victory in a long legal struggle may force the Italian state to comply with its obligations. Read More
Northern Ireland: How a 1980s state killing cover-up is still relevant today
A review of ‘Decades of Deceit: The Stalker Affair and its Legacy’ by Paddy Hillyard (Beyond the Pale Books, 2024). Read More
From Malpensa to Tel Aviv: Italian police use Israeli software to spy on anti-deportation activists
In March last year, four people were arrested after stopping a deportation flight to Morocco leaving Milan's Malpensa airport. When they got their phones back from the police, they found a strange file – one connected with spying products designed by the Israeli firm Cellebrite. Read More
Italian police are “misleading” people about Schengen entry bans, says internal EU report
The Italian police are providing “misleading” information to people who ask whether there is a Schengen entry ban against them, says an internal EU report obtained by Statewatch. The document also says the country’s data protection authority cannot properly supervise the use of two huge EU databases. Read More
EU: Digital and migrant rights groups call for “full rejection” of new anti-smuggling powers
Two new laws against migrant smuggling should be rejected by EU legislators, says a position paper published today. The paper, by the #ProtectNotSurveil coalition, analyses two proposals: an update of a 20-year old law on criminal penalties for migrant smuggling; and new rules to give police agency Europol more powers. The approach adopted by the EU "will not provide the care and protection people need, but only aggravate the criminalisation and dehumanisation of people on the move," argues the paper. Statewatch is a member of #ProtectNotSurveil and supported the drafting of the paper. Read More
Libya: After discovery of mass graves, EU funding should “save lives and open up safe routes”
More than 30 organisations, including Statewatch, have called on the European Commission to use its funding for immigration control in Libya "to save lives and to provide alternatives to dangerous journeys." The call comes after the discovery of two mass graves in Libya, containing the bodies of almost 50 people believed to have been migrants and refugees. Read More