February
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).
From Malpensa to Tel Aviv: Italian police use Israeli software to spy on anti-deportation activsts
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.
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.
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.
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.
€1,500 and a one-way ticket: how Cyprus deports Syrian refugees with EU support
Cyprus has been unlawfully detaining Syrian refugees for years, and has coerced thousands of people to go back to Syria through a supposedly "voluntary" return programme. Behind those "voluntary" returns lies a lack of access to asylum procedures, intimidation by officials, and appalling detention conditions. The European Commission and Frontex have supported the programme, despite internal concerns. EU funds for the Cypriot deportation regime run into the tens of millions of euros, but the real price is paid by Syrian refugees.
Polish government proposes life-long EU entry bans for deportees
In the coming months, EU institutions will start negotiating a new law to increase deportations. EU governments want their positions taken into account in the European Commission’s forthcoming proposal. The Polish government has proposed banning deportees from EU territory for “an indefinite period of time,” alongside other coercive measures.
Protest in Ceuta commemorates "all those who, in search of a better life, met their death"
On 8 February, activists and campaigners once again gathered in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta to demand justice for the deaths of 14 people in 2014. The 14 drowned after Guardia Civil officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at them as they tried to reach Spanish territory. The manifesto of the 'XII March for Dignity', supported by Statewatch and published here, calls for the Spanish state to "make reparations to their victims and establish mechanisms to safeguard lives at the borders."
New bulletin on outsourcing of Europe's borders out now
30+ internal EU documents on border management and control, deportation, migration "partnerships" and more /// Updates on case law relevant to border externalisation /// Analysis of Frontex's increasing role in non-EU states
Italian ministers should face justice for freeing fugitive war criminal, says legal complaint
A case filed with the International Criminal Court calls for the launching of investigations into Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, and two other high-ranking Italian politicians. The complaint accuses them of helping an alleged war criminal wanted by the ICC to escape from Italy to Libya. In doing so, they obstructed the work of the International Criminal Court, says the filing - a crime under international law.
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