• Senza frontiere: La criminalizzazione dei cosiddetti #scafisti nel 2023

    1. Dati e monitoraggio della cronaca
    Numero di fermi

    Come negli anni precedenti, nel 2023 abbiamo monitorato sistematicamente la cronaca sulle notizie degli arresti dei cosiddetti scafisti. Abbiamo registrato 177 arresti negli ultimi 12 mesi (rispetto ai 171 arresti nel 2021 e ai 261 arresti nel 2022). Una dichiarazione di Piantedosi che sostiene che “550 scafisti” sono stati arrestati nel biennio 2022-23 – visto che nell’aprile il governo ha rivendicato c. 350 fermi per 2022 – ci fa stimare un totale di 200 fermi nel 2023. Dal 2013, quindi, sono state fermate ormai circa 3.200 persone.

    Il numero di arresti nel 2023 non solo è inferiore in termini assoluti rispetto agli anni precedenti, ma mostra una diminuzione ancora più significativa in termini relativi. Nel 2023, circa 157.000 persone sono arrivate in Italia via mare, il che significa che sono state arrestate circa tre persone ogni 2.000 arrivi. Nel 2021 e nel 2022, il tasso di criminalizzazione era due volte questo.

    Esistono diverse ragioni che potrebbero spiegare questa diminuzione. La più significativa sembra essere un cambiamento di politica ad Agrigento e Lampedusa nel non effettuare arresti sistematici dopo gli sbarchi, concentrandosi invece su casi specifici che coinvolgono accuse di morti durante il viaggio, torture e, per la prima volta, pirateria. Ci teniamo ad aggiungere che – appoggiando il lavoro dell’associazione Maldusa – stiamo seguendo casi in cui le persone sono accusate dei suddetti reati, che hanno suscitato in noi importanti dubbi sulla correttezza delle accuse e sulle modalità con cui vengono portati avanti questi procedimenti penali che spesso sembrano vere e proprie sperimentazioni giuridiche. È anche evidente che le autorità ad Agrigento effettuano continuamente arresti di persone, soprattutto cittadini tunisini, che, essendo rientrati in Italia dopo espulsioni precedenti, sono imputati del reato di violazione del divieto di reingresso. Questo dimostra una manipolazione molto evidente del diritto penale come mezzo per sostenere le ingiuste politiche di chiusura e respingimento.

    Luoghi di fermo e il decreto Piantedosi

    In secondo luogo, l’anno scorso è stata attuata una nuova strategia nella guerra italiana contro le navi di soccorso delle ONG, a cui sono stati assegnati porti di sbarco in tutta Italia (il decreto Piantedosi). Un effetto collaterale è che spesso i luoghi che hanno accolto le imbarcazioni non hanno visto tanti sbarchi prima di quest’anno, e sono quindi poco familiari con la criminalizzazione sistematica che si è agita negli ultimi anni. Nei porti settentrionali a volte sono stati disposti gli arresti, che spesso poi non sono stati convalidati dai Giudici locali, che non hanno ritenuto neppure di disporre una misura cautelare dato che le prove contro gli imputati erano troppo deboli. Mentre ad Agrigento e nei porti del Nord possiamo forse notare una certa resistenza alla solita politica degli arresti sistematici dei capitani, lo stesso non si può dire in altre parti d’Italia. Nella Sicilia orientale e in Calabria un alto numero di persone è stato arrestato e incarcerato. Augusta ha registrato 28 arresti, Siracusa 11; Crotone ha visto 24 arresti e Roccella 18. E come si può vedere dalla mappa, questo modello si replica in altri porti delle stesse zone.

    Nazionalità

    Nel 2023, come nel 2021 e nel 2022, le autorità hanno preso di mira in particolare i cittadini egiziani, identificandone almeno 60 come capitani. Ciò è notevolmente diverso da quanto avveniva prima del 2020, quando gli egiziani avevano smesso di essere la principale nazionalità criminalizzata. Questa inversione di tendenza ha visto circa 300 cittadini egiziani arrestati dal 2020, la maggior parte dei quali probabilmente è ancora nelle carceri italiane.

    Un cambiamento significativo delle nazionalità delle persone arrestate registrato nel 2023 è invece l’importante aumento della criminalizzazione delle persone migranti provenienti dai paesi asiatici, che ammontano a circa 40 persone fermate quest’anno.

    Con riferimento alla rotta ionica, che arriva in Calabria – la stessa utilizzata dalla barca che è tragicamente affondata vicino a Cutro – nel 2021 la maggior parte delle persone arrestate come capitani proveniva da Russia e Ucraina. Con l’inizio della guerra, sono arrivate molte meno persone con queste nazionalità, mentre abbiamo assistito ad un allarmante aumento della persecuzione dei cittadini turchi nel 2022. Nell’ultimo anno, invece, abbiamo assistito a pochi arresti di persone provenienti dall’Europa orientale o dalla Turchia, e molti di più di persone provenienti dagli stati dell’Asia centrale.

    Va detto che la diminuzione dei fermi eseguiti dalla Procura di Agrigento dovrebbe essere letta alla luce della massiccia operazione posta in essere dalla polizia tunisina, con la benedizione e il finanziamento dell’Europa, contro i cosiddetti trafficanti a Sfax. I governi si vantano di ben 750 fermi nel paese nordafricano negli ultimi tre mesi, accanto a strategie violente di intercettazione e refoulement, come denunciato sia da Amnesty che dal Forum tunisino per i diritti economici e sociali. Anche in Egitto, l’inasprimento della legge nazionale contro i ‘trafficanti’ ha portato a diffusi arresti e processi ingiusti. Ad esempio, l’11 giugno 2023, una campagna di arresti ingiustificati per “smuggling” ha portato alla morte, alla città di Marsa Matruh, di un cittadino egiziano per colpi di arma da fuoco inferti dalla polizia, come ha denunciato Refugees Platform in Egypt. A livello dell’UE, si provano invece ad affinare gli strumenti legali, accrescendo le infrastrutture di controllo e criminalizzazione della frontiera e proponendo emendamenti – come quelli presentati in occasione del lancio dell’Alleanza globale contro il traffico di migranti – al cosiddetto Facilitators Package (in italiano “pacchetto facilitatori”).

    È chiaro quindi che, mentre festeggiamo alcune limitate vittorie, non possiamo negare che il “trafficante/scafista” rimane il capro espiatorio per eccellenza in Europa e non solo.
    2. Un anno di casi e udienze

    Attualmente seguiamo la situazione di 107 persone accusate di essere ‘scafisti’, 66 delle quali sono ancora in carcere. Dei detenuti, 32 si trovano in Sicilia e 16 in Calabria; gli altri sono sparsi in tutta Italia. Come ci si aspetterebbe dagli arresti degli ultimi anni, quasi la metà delle persone detenute che seguiamo proviene dall’Africa del Nord (30 su 44), mentre la maggior parte di quelle provenienti dall’Africa occidentale con cui siamo in contatto sono ormai libere (23 su 30). Siamo anche in contatto con 24 persone provenienti da paesi asiatici (tra cui Turchia, Palestina e i paesi ex-sovietici), la maggior parte delle quali è ancora detenuta.
    Cutro

    E’ trascorso poco meno di un anno da quando quasi 100 persone hanno perso la vita nelle acque di Cutro, in Calabria. Il Governo ha reagito non solo con finta commozione e decreti razzisti, ma anche, come quasi sempre accade, con un processo contro i cosiddetti scafisti. Insieme alle realtà calabresi, seguiamo attentamente i processi contro Khalid, Hasab, Sami, Gun e Mohamed, sopravvissuti al naufragio e provenienti dalla Turchia e dal Pakistan: ora si devono difendere contro il Ministero dell’Interno, il Consiglio dei Ministri e la Regione Calabria che si sono costituiti parti civili nel processo penale. Le istituzioni governative, anche se non esiste un fondo per questo, chiedono un risarcimento superiore a un milione di euro per danni al turismo e all’immagine: come se la tragedia del massacro di Cutro fosse questa.
    Processi

    Sono diversi i procedimenti penali che siamo riusciti a seguire da vicino, offrendo il nostro supporto ad avvocatə e persone criminalizzate, e, in alcuni casi, andando personalmente alle udienze.

    - Tra le vittorie ottenute non possiamo non citare la recentissima sentenza di assoluzione emessa dalla Corte di Appello di Messina in favore di Ali Fabureh, un giovane ragazzo gambiano che era stato erroneamente condannato dal Tribunale di Messina a 10 anni di carcere senza che – come appurato dalla Corte – avesse mai preso un timone in mano. E sempre a Messina abbiamo registrato un’altra importante vittoria: si è, infatti, concluso con una sentenza di assoluzione anche il procedimento penale iniziato due anni fa contro 4 persone accusate di aver condotto un peschereccio con a bordo centinaia di persone ed essere responsabili della morte di 5 di esse. Tra le persone assolte c’è A., che attualmente è ospitato presso l’associazione Baobab, e con cui continuiamo a rimanere in contatto. Un’altra importante vittoria di quest’anno è stata raggiunta a febbraio a Palermo, quando il Tribunale ha assolto 10 persone accusate di art. 12 TUI, riconoscendo loro lo stato di necessità per le violenze subite in Libia e aprendo la strada, si spera, a un maggior riconoscimento di questa causa di giustificazione. La sentenza è ora definitiva.
    - Purtroppo non tutti i procedimenti seguiti si sono conclusi positivamente, a dimostrazione del fatto che, anche se qualche passo nella direzione giusta è stato fatto, ne restano ancora tanti da compiere. Spesso può succedere che il processo contro due imputati nello stesso procedimento, ha avuto esiti diversi. Questo è stato il caso in un processo nei confronti di due cittadini senegalesi al Tribunale di Agrigento, che ha disposto l’archiviazione per uno di loro, mentre per l’altro il processo continua.
    – Altre volte è stata emessa una sentenza di condanna senza assoluzioni o archiviazioni. Questo è il caso della riprovevole condanna di 7 anni inflitta dal Tribunale di Locri a Ahmid Jawad, magistrato afghano che ancora lotta per dimostrare che era un semplice passeggero dell’imbarcazione che dalla Turchia l’ha condotto in Italia. E’ anche la situazione di Ahmed, che si è visto rigettare l’appello proposto alla Corte di Appello di Palermo avverso la sentenza di condanna del Tribunale di Agrigento.
    - Inoltre, non possiamo non mostrare indignazione e preoccupazione per i casi, come quello di E. (egiziano) al tribunale di Locri e M. e J. (del Sierra Leone) a Reggio Calabria, con cui siamo in contatto, a cui è stata applicata la nuova fattispecie di reato di cui all’art. 12 bis TUI, introdotta con il decreto Cutro, che prevede pene ancora più elevate. Seguiamo il loro processo da lontano: a gennaio, il tribunale di Locri ha rigettato la richiesta di remissione alla Corte Costituzionale presentata dagli avvocati per contestare l’art 12 bis.

    Centri di permanenza per il rimpatrio (CPR)

    I problemi per le persone accusate di essere ‘scafisti’ non finiscono a fine pena, e anche con riferimento alla detenzione nei CPR abbiamo seguito casi che hanno avuto esiti molto diversi. Siamo felicə che gli ultimi due casi seguiti si siano conclusi in modo positivo. Nel mese di dicembre, infatti, una donna ucraina e un uomo tunisino entrambə codannatə per art. 12 TUI, sono statə scarceratə, rispettivamente dalle carceri di Palermo e di Caltagirone, senza essere deportatə presso i centri di detenzione. Sicuramente nel primo caso ha inciso la nazionalità della persona, mentre nel secondo il sovraccaricamento dei centri.

    Purtroppo non sempre è stato possibile evitare il CPR. Molte persone seguite, nonostante la richiesta asilo presentata tempestivamente, sono state trattenute nei centri di detenzione, chi per pochi giorni, chi per due mesi. Per circostanze che sembrano spesso fortuite, la maggior parte è riuscita ad uscire e, anche se con poche prospettive di regolarizzarsi, possono vivere in “libertà” in Italia.

    Purtroppo, per due persone seguite le cose sono andate diversamente. La macchina burocratica ha mostrato il suo volto più spietato e sono stati rimpatriati prima che avessero la possibilità di ricevere un aiuto più concreto; oggi si trovano in Gambia e Egitto. Nell’ultimo caso, la situazione è ancora più preoccupante perché era stato assolto dal Tribunale di Messina; nonostante ciò, all’uscita dal carcere lo aspettava la deportazione.
    Misure alternative

    Quest’anno è stato particolarmente significativo in termini del superamento del regime ostativo alle misure alterantive alla detenzione posto dall’art. 4 bis o.p., che si applica a chi subisce una condanna per art. 12 TUI. Abbiamo infatti registrato i primi casi in cui le persone incarcerate che seguiamo hanno potuto accedere a misure alternative alla detenzione. Questo è stato il caso di B., che ha ottenuto dal Tribunale di Sorveglianza di Palermo l’affidamento in prova ai servizi sociali in provincia di Sciacca. Adesso che ha raggiunto il fine pena si è stabilito lì, in poco più di un mese ha aggiunto i suoi obiettivi personali: ha un lavoro e una rete sociale. E questa è la storia anche di A., e O., che hanno fatto accesso alle misure alternative presso la comunità Palermitana Un Nuovo Giorno. Rimaniamo, invece, in attesa dell’esito della seconda istanza di accesso per M., cugino di B., con cui tentiamo dal 2022, e che speriamo possa presto vedere il cielo oltre le quattro mura.

    Abbiamo anche seguito 6 persone, tra cui i 3 accusati palestinesi che l’estate scorsa sono entrati in sciopero della fame, che sono riusciti ad accedere agli arresti domiciliari, che pur non essendo oggetto dell’art. 4 bis o.p., nel corso degli anni sono comunque rimasti difficili da ottenere. Queste vittorie sono state possibili grazie ai tentativi, a volte ripetuti, dellə loro avvocatə difensorə, e alle offerte di ospitalità di un numero crescente di realtà conosciute.

    È bello vedere che qualcuno riesce a sgusciare attraverso alcune crepe di questo meccanismo. Certamente lavoreremo per continuare ad allargarle, anche se sappiamo che questo strumento può solo alleviare la sofferenza di alcune persone, e certamente non riparare i danni subiti per la loro detenzione.
    3. Rete

    Per noi è fondamentale ribadire che è solo grazie a una rete forte, impegnata, diffusa e informata, che questo lavoro è possibile. Anche quest’anno, possiamo dire di aver avuto il grandissimo piacere di collaborare con realtà diverse, in tanti luoghi, da Torino a Napoli, da Lampedusa a Londra, da Roma a Bruxelles e New York.

    In particolare, segnaliamo la campagna recentemente avviata Free #Pylos 9, promossa della rete Captain Support, per le persone arrestate in seguito al massacro di Pylos in Grecia. Negli ultimi mesi abbiamo inoltre avuto modo di conoscere realtà solidali a Bruxelles, tra cui PICUM, che ha organizzato a fine novembre un incontro di scambio sulle pratiche di criminalizzazione attuate intorno al controllo della migrazione. Qui abbiamo avuto l’opportunità di aprire insieme una conversazione sul lancio della nuova Alleanza Globale Europea contro il Traffico di Migranti, che stava avvenendo proprio in quei giorni.

    A New York a novembre abbiamo partecipato alla conferenza dell’Università di Columbia sulla criminalizzazione della migrazione nel mondo, e abbiamo presentato il nostro lavoro al centro sociale Woodbine, insieme ad altri gruppi locali impegnati nella lotta contro le frontiere.

    Qua in Italia, se da un lato il decreto Piantedosi ha ottusamente costretto le navi ONG a sbarcare in diversi porti d’Italia (come abbiamo scritto nei paragrafi sopra), dall’altro ha contribuito a catalizzare la consapevolezza sugli arresti allo sbarco in diverse città. Grazie al lavoro di alcunə avvocatə e individui solidali a Napoli, e con il supporto della Clinica Legale Roma 3, le persone arrestate agli sbarchi in Campania hanno avuto accesso a un supporto indipendente ed esaustivo.

    L’evento Capitani Coraggiosi, organizzato da Baobab Experience alla Città dell’Altra Economia a Roma, ha visto proiezione del film Io Capitano di Matteo Garrone (ora fra i candidati agli Oscar), e un dibattito col regista e con altre persone impegnate in questa lotta. Qui è stata lanciata la campagna in vista della presentazione della richiesta di revisione del caso di Alaji Diouf, che ha subito una condanna di 7 anni per il reato di favoreggiamento. Adesso, Alaji chiede che sia fatta giustizia sul suo caso, come affermato nel suo intervento dopo la proiezione del film “Io Capitano”, quando ha detto “Tutto quello che succede dopo, da lì parte davvero il film. […] ora che sono libero voglio far conoscere al mondo la verità”.

    ‘Dal mare al carcere’
    un progetto di Arci Porco Rosso e borderline-europe
    4° report trimestrale 2023.

    Leggete il report ‘Dal mare al carcere’ (2021), e i seguenti aggiornamenti trimestrale, al www.dal-mare-al-carcere.info.

    Ringraziamo Iuventa Crew, Sea Watch Legal Aid e Safe Passage Fund che hanno supportato il nostro lavoro nel 2023. Vuoi sostenerlo anche tu? Puoi contribuire alla nostra raccolta fondi.

    https://arciporcorosso.it/senza-frontiere
    #scafista #criminalisation_de_la_migration #migrations #asile #réfugiés #frontières #Méditerranée #mer_Méditerranée #Arci_Porco_Rosso #Italie #chiffres #statistiques #2023 #justice #procès #détention_administrative #rétention #Cutro

  • From Sea To Prison. The Criminalization of Boat Drivers in Italy

    Freedom of movement is a right, not a crime. But over the past decade, Italy has arrested thousands of people in connection with driving migrant boats across the Mediterranean Sea. Our report describes their journeys from sea to prison, examining and taking a stand against the criminalization of migration.

    Italy has spent decades pursuing people who have done nothing other than drive a boat of migrants towards its shores, utilizing criminal law, undercover police operations and emergency anti-Mafia powers to re-enforce Europe’s border regime.

    We have spoken to hundreds of people involved – persons accused of boat driving, ex-prisoners, lawyers, researchers, activists, judges and members of the police and Coast Guard – and studied dozens of court sentences to reveal the full extent of Italy’s process of criminalizing migration.
    Life sentences

    The prison sentences that have been issued range from 2 years to 20 years – and sometimes even more. Of the nearly 1,000 cases we have discovered through a systematic media review, we have found 24 people with prison sentences of over 10 years, and 6 people who have received life sentences.
    Imprisoning refugees

    Boat drivers come from many countries, and are often migrants and refugees too. In 2018 and 2019, the police arrested around one person for every hundred migrants who arrived.

    From a review of nearly one thousand cases, we estimate that over a third of the arrestees are from North Africa, 20% from Eastern Europe and 20% from West Africa. Many of the West and North African citizens arrested and imprisoned in Italy were forced to drive boats from Libya, a country they were fleeing from. In the case of the Eastern European boat drivers, many recount that they were tricked into people smuggling.
    Criminalization causes deaths

    Italy, the EU and the UN have consistently claimed that arresting boat drivers is a way of cracking down on human smuggling, in order to prevent deaths at sea. But our report demonstrates that criminalizing boat drivers has actually contributed to some of the worst maritime disasters in recent history.
    Our report examines:

    – available official data on the arrest and imprisonment of boat drivers
    - nearly 1,000 cases reported by the Italian media over the last 10 years
    - how the Italian law has been consistently modified over the last 25 years to criminalize and persecute boat drivers
    - the different kinds of boat drivers punished under the law, including those forced to drive boats under threats and violence
    - how all the sea routes into Italy have been criminalized: from Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Greece and Albania
    - how boat drivers are identified at sea on the basis of faulty photography and unreliable witnesses
    - court cases that fail to protect the rights of arrestees, sentencing people on flimsy evidence with little access to defense
    - how the Italian prison system fails to protect the rights of foreign prisoners, and how boat drivers are prevented from accessing house arrest
    – the social and economic consequences for boat drivers after leaving prison – even if they are found innocent

    Our report demonstrates that:

    – criminalization of migrant boat drivers in Italy has consistently increased over the last 25 years, especially since 2015.
    - criminalizing boat drivers does not prevent deaths at sea – it contributes to shipwrecks and maritime disasters
    - the consequences of being arrested as a boat driver has a serious impact on people’s lives – even if the charges are dropped
    - the rights of imprisoned boat drivers are being overlooked: contact with families is often non-existent, there are almost no translators in the Italian prison system, and access to adequate defense is not protected.

    https://fromseatoprison.info
    #Italie #scafisti #criminalisation #asile #migrations #réfugiés #frontières #Méditerranée #Mer_Méditerranée #criminalisation_de_la_migration
    #rapport #ARCI_Porco_Rosso

    • Migrants: thousands of boat drivers arrested in Italy, new report shows

      Exclusive new report by activists and NGOs reveals scale of Europe’s attack on migration.

      More than 2,500 people have been arrested in Italy for people smuggling over the last 10 years, even when they have done nothing more than drive a boat across the Mediterranean Sea. Hundreds of them are languishing in prisons across Italy, a report released today by ARCI Porco Rosso and Alarm Phone demonstrates.

      It is the first time that public data on arrests of boat drivers has been pulled together and analyzed. Over the past year, Italian police have arrested as many as one migrant for every 100 people who have arrived in Italy by sea, accusing them of ‘facilitating illegal immigration’, a crime that can lead to 15 years imprisonment and millions of Euros in fines. In some cases – when migrants have died during the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea – prison sentences have reached 30 years or even life
      imprisonment.

      The report reviews around 1,000 cases of migrants who have been arrested for people smuggling. Italian law says that anyone who helps migrants enter the country irregularly can face years in prison – even if the accused have done nothing more than drive a boat, and even if they too are migrants.

      Cheikh Sene, a community organizer with ‘Porco Rosso’, who worked on the report, said:
      “I did two years in prison for driving a boat. I saved those people’s lives, we had no choice. Now we want to fight for the freedom and human rights of
      other migrants unjustly in prison."

      “Migrants come to Europe because Europeans are in our countries, everyone should have the right to move where they want to, we’re all humans”, Sene continued.
      The authors spoke to a hundred people for the research - including dozens of criminalized boat drivers, as well as lawyers, judges, members of the Italian Coast
      Guard and prison workers.

      Many migrants are found guilty even when court evidence is extremely weak, the report details. Maria Giulia Fava, a paralegal who co-wrote the report, said:
      “These are politically charged trials. In the man-hunt for a scapegoat, someone to blame for the death and disaster, normal guarantees of a fair
      trial are set aside. The very principles that should be the foundation of criminal law are simply forgotten.”

      The imprisoned migrants come from many different countries. Today’s report estimates that 35% come from North Africa, 20% from West African countries, and
      another 20% from Eastern Europe. These include people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Senegal, Syria and Ukraine.

      The criminalization of migrant boat drivers is part of an increasingly worrying trend in Italy as well as the rest of Europe, where both migrants and those in solidarity with them, including NGO rescue ships, have been subjected to criminal investigations.

      Sara Traylor, an activist from ‘Alarm Phone’ commented:
      “Criminalizing migration is simply part of a violent border system that we need to abolish. Europe needs to acknowledge and take responsibility for its unjust and deadly migration policies, and the consequences these have on the lives of the people they affect. Sending people to jail isn’t going to stop migration or make it any safer.”

      Read the report online: fromseatoprison.info

      For questions on the report or a comment on the findings, contact Richard at
      arciporcorosso@gmail.com or on +393245820120.

      ARCI Porco Rosso is a cultural center and migrant solidarity project in Palermo, Italy.
      Alarm Phone is a transnational network of activists that run a hotline to support people in distress in the Mediterranean Sea.

    • The African migrants who Italy accuses of people smuggling

      In our series of letters from African journalists, Ismail Einashe meets a young Senegalese man who was accused of people smuggling soon after he survived crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

      The 16-year-old from Senegal was relieved to have landed safely in Sicily - staying in what he thought was a migrant reception centre.

      This was in 2015, after he had survived a perilous boat journey from Libya. But two days into his stay he became concerned that the doors to his room were locked shut.

      Unwittingly, in fact, Moussa - whose name has been changed to protect his identity - found himself in prison in Trapani, a port city in the west of the Italian island.

      “This can’t be, I got to Italy and ended up straight in prison. I am 16,” he thought to himself.

      He could not believe what had happened to him - this was not the Europe he had dreamt about before he embarked on the arduous journey from Senegal in search of a better life.

      Moussa would go on to spend almost two years in an adult prison on charges of people smuggling even though he was a minor.

      His case is far from unique.

      In the last decade more than 2,500 people have been arrested in Italy on the same charges, according to a recent report by Palermo-based non-governmental organisation Arci Porco Rosso.

      Those arrested in Italy are accused of aiding and abetting illegal migration, a crime that can result in up to 20 years imprisonment and huge fines.
      ’Used as scapegoats’

      Hundreds of innocent migrants are currently locked up waiting for the legal process to be concluded, according to Maria Giulia Fava, a paralegal who co-authored the report.

      She says that Italy is using people-smuggling laws to criminalise migrants and refugees in an attempt to scapegoat them over immigration levels.

      Migrants are charged on extremely weak evidence, she adds, court hearings are rarely open, there is a lack of adequate access to legal defence, evidence can be based on unreliable witnesses and minors can end up in the adult prison system.

      Cheikh Sene knows the system well.

      He is now a Senegalese community organiser in Sicily’s main city, Palermo, but spent two years in prison after being found guilty of aiding people smuggling and says that many migrants are unjustly kept in prison simply for saving lives at sea. He says that is what happened to him.

      Arci Porco Rosso also states in its report that it came across cases in which Italian police officers offered migrants documents in exchange for their testimony against alleged boat drivers.

      The Italian Ministry of Justice told the BBC that it could not provide information on trials or arrests, but it did provide data on those currently held in prisons on people-smuggling charges. As of 22 March, it said, there were 952 inmates, of which 562 were convicted in Italy for people smuggling

      However, the ministry did not respond to the allegations made in the Arci Porco Rosso report.
      ’Minors in adults prisons’

      In Moussa’s case when his boat landed in Trapani, he was left to disembark and waited with others who arrived at the port for a bus to take them into town.

      But as he stood there he was called over by an Italian official.

      "They asked me to follow them inside. They gave me a paper, and took a picture.

      “Then they made me get in a big car and drove me away. The trip lasted more than two hours, and then they took me to an office.”

      It turned out to be a police station where he was interviewed through a French-speaking Moroccan translator.

      She explained to him that two fellow passengers on the boat had accused him of having steered the vessel.

      He pleaded to know who these two people were, as he could not understand the allegation, but she told him she was a translator and not a lawyer.

      The next morning he was put in a police car.

      “I didn’t know I was being taken to prison. I thought it was a reception centre.”

      He tried to explain that he was a minor. In the prison, he says he had two scans to determine his age. One assessment found that he was a minor, while the other did not.

      Because the results were inconclusive he was placed in an adult prison.

      And he says he was not alone in this. He remembers other young African migrants his age and younger in prison with him.

      He recalls meeting plenty of Gambians, Tunisians, Nigerians and Malians.
      Missed father’s death

      It was nine months before he was able to call his family in Senegal who had presumed he was dead.

      A few months later, on a second call, he found out that his father had passed away.

      In prison he was at least able to study for his Italian middle school qualifications and dreamt of escaping prison.

      Finally, in spring 2017, Moussa got an appeal court hearing date in Palermo.

      But when he walked into the courtroom the judge stood up and said he could not preside over the case of a minor.

      Then, three days later, in the small hours of the morning, guards came to his cell and told him to pack up as he was being released.

      “They walked me to the door and closed it behind me. I was standing there, with a plastic bin bag full of my clothes.”

      He had no idea where to go and one of the guards suggested he take the road and wait until he found other Africans to ask for advice on what he should do.

      That night he arrived at the Piazza Vittoria square in Trapani. There he met some Senegalese who told him to head to Volpita, a migrant camp.

      Eventually Moussa left Volpita after hearing he could make money by picking olives somewhere else.

      After spending many months working there he settled in the popular tourist town of Cefalù, near Palermo, where he now works as a chef in a hotel.

      But his case has not been addressed yet and he remains in a distressing legal limbo.

      His documents have also expired and he is waiting for a new court date.

      As Moussa explains his predicament six years after arriving in Italy he becomes overwhelmed - traumatised by what he had been through. He simply wants the nightmare to end.

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60492918

    • Quand les migrants victimes de passeurs sont jugés et condamnés à leur place

      En Grèce, en Italie et au Royaume-Uni, « Libération » a documenté des cas où sur des motifs futiles, la justice a traité de simples migrants comme les agents des réseaux qui les exploitent en monnayant leur passage vers l’Europe. Ils seraient près de 10 000 à être emprisonnés pour cette raison.

      Plus fort que blâmer les victimes : criminaliser les victimes. De nombreux demandeurs d’asile, à peine arrivés aux portes de l’Europe, ont été emprisonnés et accusés d’être des passeurs, leur retirant ainsi toute possibilité de se faire entendre. Notre enquête dans trois pays européens fait état de l’étendue de cette mascarade officielle : 9 862 personnes sont détenues sous cette accusation à travers l’Europe, selon Empact, la plateforme pluridisciplinaire européenne contre les menaces criminelles. Des arrestations qui sont comptabilisées pour tenter de démontrer l’efficacité de la lutte contre les réseaux de passeurs, et qui envoient des migrants innocents en prison pour des années. Dans certains pays, comme la Grèce, les peines de cette justice expéditive peuvent atteindre des dizaines d’années. Ces boucs émissaires sont choisis un peu au hasard – parce qu’ils avaient accepté de tenir une boussole, ou de conduire un canot de fortune jusqu’aux rives européennes. Dans certains cas que Libération a documentés, même appeler les secours peut suffire pour être interpellé, inculpé puis condamné. Au Royaume-Uni, où les traversées clandestines battent tous les records – près de 42 000 migrants ont atteint les côtes anglaises cette année, contre 28 500 en 2021 – le gouvernement conservateur a trouvé le modèle grec assez à son goût pour en faire sa principale arme pour gonfler les statistiques de démantèlement des réseaux, et peu importe si de nombreux demandeurs d’asile sont pris dans les filets tendus pour combattre les réseaux dont ils sont eux-mêmes victimes. Nos révélations interviennent moins de 24 heures après une enquête du journal le Monde démontrant le cynisme révoltant des préposés aux secours pendant le naufrage d’un canot dans la Manche la nuit du 24 novembre 2021, tandis que les gouvernements français et britannique ont signé un nouvel accord pour renforcer les moyens de patrouille et de contrôle. Au mépris du besoin urgent de renforcer l’accès au droit d’asile et aux secours d’urgence.

      https://www.liberation.fr/idees-et-debats/editorial/quand-les-migrants-victimes-de-passeurs-sont-juges-et-condamnes-a-leur-pl

    • Aux frontières de l’Europe, des migrants devenus boucs émissaires de la « guerre aux passeurs »

      Au Royaume-Uni, en Italie et en Grèce, des demandeurs d’asiles sont régulièrement accusés d’être membres des réseaux criminels dont ils sont eux-mêmes victimes pour avoir piloté un bateau, tenu un GPS ou même appelé les autorités à l’aide. Certains sont emprisonnés après des procès entachés d’irrégularités.

      Lina (1) n’a plus confiance en personne. Assise très droite dans un appartement sur une terrasse d’Athènes, les rideaux tirés, elle n’accepte de parler qu’à la condition que rien ne soit enregistré. La Syrienne de 25 ans, cheveux couverts par un voile noir et maquillage soigné, est venue en bus depuis un camp de réfugiés. Depuis deux ans et demi, elle y élève seule ses enfants de 4, 5 et 6 ans. Leur père, Bassem (1), purge en prison une peine de cinquante-deux ans.

      Ses lèvres tremblent lorsqu’elle relate leurs derniers jours en tant que famille réunie. C’était en mars 2020 : la traversée terrifiante en canot pneumatique depuis la Turquie, pour rejoindre l’île grecque de Chios. L’engrenage se résume en quelques souvenirs. Le passeur turc saute du bateau peu de temps après le début de la navigation et donne la barre à Bassem avec une menace : « Si tu fais demi-tour, on te tue. » Le moteur en panne, les passagers rament avec leurs mains pour enfin atteindre la terre ferme. Son mari sera interpellé par la police grecque pour avoir conduit le rafiot. « Mes enfants demandent chaque jour quand leur père sortira de prison », dit Lina. Ils ne l’ont plus vu depuis son procès, à la cour d’assises de Chios, en avril 2021. Pour avoir « facilité une immigration illégale », l’homme a écopé de dix ans d’emprisonnement, plus une année par personne sur le rafiot, soit cinquante-deux ans, dont vingt ferme. La durée maximale d’emprisonnement en Grèce.

      Depuis, la famille survit dans un camp proche d’Athènes. Lina a appris à coudre pour tenter de gagner un peu d’argent. La survie quotidienne est presque insurmontable : de ses mains, elle mime le geste de se taillader les poignets. Un avocat privé a convaincu le couple de faire appel, mais au prix fort : 10 000 euros. Pour Lina, la seule porte de sortie consiste en un entretien pour bénéficier du droit d’asile, prévu en 2023. Mais si elle reçoit une réponse positive, elle tentera de quitter la Grèce pour un autre pays d’Europe. Quitte à laisser son mari derrière elle. « On ne sait pas quand Bassem sortira, je dois penser d’abord à mes enfants », dit-elle.

      Bassem est l’un des milliers de détenus arrêtés aux portes de l’Europe et accusés d’avoir facilité l’immigration illégale ou pris part au trafic de migrants. Ils étaient 2 282 personnes dans les seules prisons de Grèce début 2022 ; et 9 862 arrêtées à travers l’Europe entre 2018 et 2021, selon Empact, la plateforme pluridisciplinaire européenne contre les menaces criminelles. Des arrestations comptabilisées par les agences européennes pour tenter de démontrer l’efficacité de la lutte contre les réseaux de passeurs.

      Mais parmi ces détenus se trouvent en réalité de nombreux demandeurs d’asile, pris dans les filets tendus pour combattre les réseaux dont ils sont eux-mêmes victimes. Conduire un canot de fortune jusqu’aux rives européennes, tenir un GPS, une boussole ou même appeler les secours peut suffire pour être interpellé, inculpé puis condamné. S’il est difficile d’estimer leur proportion parmi les passeurs arrêtés, les associations de défense des migrants les considèrent comme des boucs émissaires. Ils seraient très nombreux : en Italie, l’ONG sicilienne Arci Porco Rosso estime que plus de 2 500 pilotes de bateaux de migrants, appelés scafisti,ont été arrêtés depuis 2013.

      « Si tu conduis, tu ne paies pas »

      L’atmosphère est souvent tendue dans le tribunal d’Agrigente, dans le sud de la Sicile. Comme ce 15 décembre 2021 où, devant une jeune juge débordée, 36 comparutions se succèdent en une seule journée. Derrière la porte de la salle, une dizaine d’avocats s’impatientent. Certains prévenus sont jugés depuis le centre de détention où ils attendent leur jugement. Ainsi, c’est depuis la prison de Trapani qu’Ahmed Godze rejoint la salle d’audience par visioconférence, l’écran tourné vers la juge.

      De l’Italie, le Tchadien, 26 ans, n’a connu que la distante silhouette des côtes siciliennes et la prison. Un an plus tôt, il était arraché à la mer in extremis par des sauveteurs du navire humanitaire Open Arms, alors que son bateau pneumatique coulait et lâchait ses 111 passagers dans les vagues. Les charges retenues contre lui : facilitation d’immigration clandestine, provocation d’un naufrage, et « décès comme conséquence d’un autre crime ». Six personnes, dont un bébé de 6 mois, ont péri dans le naufrage.

      Lors des audiences précédentes, son avocate italienne a insisté : Ahmed Godze n’a rien d’un passeur. Séquestré par des trafiquants armés dans une maison de transit en Libye, trop pauvre pour pouvoir acheter sa liberté ou fuir la torture, le jeune homme d’alors 20 ans n’avait aucune alternative. Sinon la Méditerranée. « Si tu conduis, tu ne paies pas », lui proposent les passeurs libyens. L’homme qui n’a jamais vu la mer est alors formé pendant une quinzaine de jours à piloter le bateau. Puis « il se retrouve sur cette plage, où des Libyens armés organisent l’embarquement, désignent qui doit monter et où ils doivent se mettre », plaide l’avocate.

      En vain. Pour la procureure italienne à l’audience, « les motivations qui ont poussé Ahmed Godze à partir sont sans importance sur le plan judiciaire ». Le jeune homme a bien reconnu avoir tenu la barre. « Il a également confirmé qu’ils avaient un téléphone satellite pour appeler à l’aide », ajoute-t-elle. « Je suis désolée, nous devons ajourner la séance », annonce la juge, juste avant que les avocats impatients ne fassent irruption dans la pièce. C’est la troisième fois que le procès d’Ahmed Godze est reporté, et la cour a déjà pris plusieurs heures de retard. La procureure requiert une peine de six ans de prison et plus de 2 millions d’euros d’amende. « Considérant le nombre de passagers, c’est une obligation. Je sais que c’est paradoxal, mais c’est ainsi », adresse-t-elle à l’avocate avec un sourire gêné. Deux mois plus tard, il sera finalement condamné à six ans et huit mois d’emprisonnement.

      « Criminaliser des actes sans aucune intention criminelle »

      Selon la loi européenne, le simple fait de tenir la barre du bateau fait d’Ahmed Godze un passeur. Même s’il n’en a tiré aucun profit. Le Parlement européen a mandaté en 2018 une étude pour évaluer la directive européenne sur l’aide à l’immigration illégale, adoptée en 2002. Leur conclusion ? « En l’état, le train de mesures relatives aux passeurs donne aux Etats membres la liberté d’étirer la définition du trafic de migrants jusqu’à criminaliser des actes sans aucune intention criminelle. » Dans de nombreux Etats membres, les lois antipasseurs, qui se sont multipliées, exercent ainsi une pression sur les migrants et les ONG qui les soutiennent. A commencer par les équipages des navires humanitaires qui opèrent en Méditerranée.

      En 2023, un rapport examinera « si le cadre juridique établi en 2002 reste adéquat pour relever les défis actuels ou s’il nécessite une révision », précise une porte-parole de la Commission européenne. Mais jusqu’ici, les autorités se sont penchées uniquement sur les cas d’acteurs humanitaires, sans mentionner les migrants eux-mêmes criminalisés.« Ces outils de justice pénale sont-ils réellement utilisés pour traduire des criminels en justice, ou bien comme un instrument de gestion des migrations et de recul de l’Etat de droit ? » interroge l’un des auteurs de l’étude, Sergio Carrera.

      Qui sont donc ces personnes arrêtées pour avoir piloté un bateau de migrants ? « Il fut un temps où les pilotes faisaient bien partie du réseau de passeurs », rappelle Gil Arias-Fernández, ex-directeur adjoint de Frontex, l’agence de gardes-frontières européenne. Mais au fur et à mesure que les arrestations se sont multipliées, « les réseaux criminels ont commencé à les remplacer par un ou deux migrants ayant quelques notions de navigation ». Face au risque, aussi, que le conducteur périsse dans un naufrage. Une traversée à prix réduit peut parfois convaincre un migrant de tenir la barre. Mais les menaces et violences sont aussi monnaie courante.

      Frontex, de son côté, rejette toute responsabilité dans les arrestations, déclarant qu’elle ne joue qu’un rôle de soutien aux autorités nationales dans la gestion des frontières. Les poursuites et enquêtes criminelles sont « du ressort exclusif des organes de répression et des autorités judiciaires nationales », assure-t-elle. Gil Arias réfute une telle analyse. Et fustige aujourd’hui son ex-agence, accusée de multiples violations des droits de l’homme en Méditerranée. Il doute également de l’efficacité de la « guerre aux passeurs » : ce sont les « lampistes qui tombent », déplore-t-il, alors que les vrais trafiquants et les « chefs de réseaux » ne montent jamais sur un rafiot pour venir en Europe. Ils « restent évidemment en sécurité dans leur pays, et dans la plupart des cas n’ont probablement aucun contact avec les migrants ».

      Pourtant, les enquêtes policières et les efforts pour démanteler ces réseaux se déploient le plus généralement dans les zones de passage. « Les personnes arrêtées sont souvent tout en bas de la chaîne et facilement remplaçables », dénonce Maddie Harris, fondatrice de l’ONG britannique Humans for Rights qui documente les violations des droits des migrants et réfugiés à travers l’Europe. Sur les plages françaises, elle raconte avoir souvent vu des jeunes hommes ou mineurs isolés « contraints de conduire les bateaux ou de fermer les portes des camions. Il est absolument évident que ceux qui conduisent les bateaux ne sont pas des passeurs ».

      Médecins sans frontières, qui opère un navire humanitaire en Méditerranée, ne dit pas autre chose. « Notre longue expérience de sauvetage en Méditerranée nous a montré que certains survivants sont contraints de conduire des bateaux, souvent sous la menace ou à la suite d’actes de violence, assure l’ONG. Le comportement agressif des gouvernements et de la justice est donc injustifié. » Un migrant secouru par l’association en novembre 2021 encourt actuellement trente ans de prison en Italie, pour un naufrage qui a fait dix victimes. « Nous appelons à davantage d’efforts pour réduire les dangers des parcours de migration en créant des voies d’entrée légales, plutôt que de criminaliser ceux qui, en conduisant un bateau, tentent d’assurer leur propre sécurité et celle des autres », résume MSF. « Les efforts pour dissuader les passeurs peuvent et doivent être faits de manière à éviter que des personnes fuyant des persécutions ou des conflits dans leur pays d’origine ne soient doublement pénalisées », confie de son côté Stella Nanou, du Haut Commissariat aux réfugiés de l’ONU en Grèce.

      « Je suis un réfugié, pas un passeur »

      Moins d’une semaine après le procès d’Ahmed Godze, à l’autre bout de l’Europe, une scène désormais familière se joue dans l’imposante salle d’audience de la cour d’appel de Londres. Quatre hommes ont fait appel de leur condamnation pour « facilitation d’immigration clandestine ». Au Royaume-Uni, où les traversées clandestines battent tous les records – plus de 40 000 migrants ont atteint les côtes anglaises cette année, contre 28 500 en 2021 –, le gouvernement conservateur ne cache pas s’être inspiré des modèles grec et italien. Selon des chiffres que Libération a pu obtenir, plus de 900 personnes ont été arrêtées depuis 2015 pour ce chef d’inculpation dans le seul comté anglais de Kent, où accostent la plupart des « small boats ».

      Mais en août 2021, la chambre criminelle de la cour d’appel a jugé qu’une traversée de la Manche n’était pas une entrée clandestine si les passagers se présentaient aux autorités maritimes ou portuaires pour demander l’asile. Un conducteur de bateau de migrants ne peut donc pas être condamné pour cette traversée. Une jurisprudence qui bouleverse les poursuites judiciaires survenues jusqu’alors. Depuis cette décision, une douzaine de personnes ont vu leur condamnation annulée, et des poursuites ont été abandonnées pour au moins dix cas. Sollicité, le ministère de l’Intérieur britannique n’a pas répondu.

      Ce jour-là, sur le dernier banc de la salle d’audience numéro 14, Samyar Ahmadi Bani est assis, bracelet électronique à la cheville et le visage cerné. Après deux ans et demi de détention, cet Iranien de 38 ans est en liberté conditionnelle depuis peu. A la rue, il n’a nulle part où dormir à la sortie de l’audience. « Quand je dors, je fais des cauchemars où la police anglaise vient m’arrêter et me renvoie en Iran », souffle-t-il dans un anglais balbutiant. Même s’il a déjà purgé sa peine, Samyar Bani entend restaurer sa réputation, qu’il estime entachée par sa condamnation et la couverture médiatique qui a suivi. « Je l’ai dit à la police britannique : je suis un réfugié, pas un passeur, explique-t-il. Mais ils m’ont quand même mis en prison. »

      « Restaurer ma dignité »

      Samyar Bani dit avoir fui l’Iran après s’être converti au christianisme et avoir subi une flagellation publique pour avoir consommé de l’alcool. Débouté de l’asile en Allemagne, il a d’abord payé 700 euros pour une première traversée de la Manche, qui n’a pas abouti. Il a alors organisé une deuxième tentative avec cinq autres Iraniens. Dans son smartphone, des preuves retenues contre lui lors de son procès : l’achat de deux canots pneumatiques en avril et en mai 2019, et des recherches sur les conditions météorologiques la veille de leur départ. Selon le dossier judiciaire, Samyar Bani aurait également tenu la barre « pendant approximativement deux minutes », pour se diriger vers un navire de la Border Force britannique qui a intercepté le bateau en mer. Il s’interroge : « Si je retourne en Iran, je serai tué. Mais en venant ici, j’ai été condamné à cinq ans de prison. Est-ce que le monde entier sera contre moi ? » Quelques jours après sa comparution devant la cour d’appel, il est finalement acquitté. Victoire au goût amer. « J’essaie de déposer une plainte pour mon emprisonnement injustifié et pour restaurer ma dignité », nous a-t-il écrit récemment.

      Si Samyar Bani avait été arrêté cette année, il aurait pu écoper d’une peine de prison à vie. En effet, malgré les évolutions de la jurisprudence, les arrestations n’ont pas cessé pour autant au Royaume-Uni, dans le sillage d’un durcissement des politiques migratoires en cours depuis le Brexit. En avril, le Parlement a approuvé un « plan immigration » censé combattre les « infâmes passeurs de migrants ». L’une des mesures phares : les conducteurs des rafiots qui traversent la Manche encourent désormais la réclusion à perpétuité. Les migrants « ont tellement de raisons d’avoir peur quand ils arrivent ici, assure Maddie Harris, de Humans for Rights.Ces mesures ne font que les pousser encore plus dans les mains des passeurs et des gangs criminels. Et continuer à détruire leurs vies. »

      « Nous attendons sa libération depuis quatre ans »

      Ce raidissement des politiques n’épargne aucun des pays européens. Surtout ceux qui sont les principales portes d’entrée du supposé eldorado continental. Des accusés ont ainsi récemment défilé devant la cour d’assises de l’île de Samos, en Grèce. Parmi les 26 cas jugés sur deux jours, la moitié est alors liée au trafic de migrants. Jeunes et amaigris, les accusés ont la tête baissée, le regard éteint. Comme Dimitris Choulis, qui attend dans un café voisin. Son téléphone ne cesse de vibrer : des messages Facebook de clients en prison qui lui demandent de l’argent, du crédit téléphonique ou des nouvelles de leurs proches. Cet avocat natif de Samos est devenu une référence pour les passeurs boucs émissaires.

      Depuis près de deux ans, au sein du collectif Human Rights Legal Project et avec l’association allemande Borderline Europe, il s’efforce de repérer des pilotes de bateaux dans les prisons grecques et leur propose une représentation bénévole. Huit de leurs clients ont ainsi pu être acquittés. Quelques-uns ont été relâchés en liberté conditionnelle ou ont vu leurs peines réduites. « Toutes ces personnes devraient être acquittées parce qu’elles ont dû commettre cet acte illégal pour pouvoir demander l’asile,explique Dimitris Choulis. Mais ils ne les acquittent jamais. Alors nous supplions le tribunal d’au moins leur accorder la peine la moins sévère possible. »

      « Si ce procès est encore reporté, je suis presque sûr que mon frère se donnera la mort. »

      -- Hamza Gawish, frère d’un migrant accusé d’être passeur
      Jassim Gawish, 30 ans, lui, ne s’est pas déplacé pour l’audience. Depuis cinq ans, il croupit en cellule : son appel a été reporté à trois reprises. En février, il attend fiévreusement, depuis la prison de Domokós dans le centre de la Grèce, un appel de Dimitris Choulis. En Syrie, dans une ville près de la frontière turque, son frère Hamza Gawish n’a pas non plus dormi de la nuit. « Nous attendons sa libération depuis quatre ans, nous sommes très inquiets », écrit-il par SMS. Jassim a déserté l’armée syrienne« parce qu’il refusait de tuer des innocents », explique Hamza. Il l’assure : s’il a finalement accepté de conduire le canot pneumatique, c’est parce qu’il n’avait pas de quoi payer la traversée. Depuis, pour soutenir Jassim en prison, la famille s’est lourdement endettée. « Si ce procès est encore reporté, je suis presque sûr que mon frère se donnera la mort », s’inquiète Hamza.

      La salle d’audience est inhabituellement calme : le président de la cour maintient l’ordre d’une main de fer, n’hésitant pas à crier sur les perturbateurs. « Ces personnes sont accusées de crimes très graves, personne ne devrait avoir à passer ne serait-ce qu’un jour en prison s’il est innocent », annonce le magistrat. Une neutralité qui surprend les avocats présents, habitués à des procès expéditifs. Une étude publiée en Grèce en 2020, menée par trois ONG sur 48 cas dans les îles égéennes, évalue la durée moyenne des audiences à trente-huit minutes. Pour des condamnations extrêmement lourdes : quarante-neuf ans de prison en moyenne, dont dix-neuf ferme.

      Cette fois-ci, la requête de Jassim Gawish est acceptée : en attendant son appel, il va retrouver une liberté (conditionnelle). Huit mois plus tard, le 19 octobre, la cour d’appel de Samos commue finalement sa peine à seulement trois ans avec sursis. Enfin, Jassim ressort libre du tribunal. Mais « il a perdu cinq années de sa vie qu’il ne récupérera pas, même si le système judiciaire a reconnu son erreur », déclare Dimitris Choulis. Si Jassim ne regrette pas le geste qui l’a mené ici, il en veut toujours à la justice grecque et son avocat commis d’office. « Je n’ai même pas pu parler avec mon premier conseil. Il est juste venu une fois à l’audience, a parlé en mon nom, et a disparu. » Son procès en première instance a duré « cinq minutes » à l’issue desquelles il a écopé de cinquante-cinq ans de prison.

      « On m’a dit de signer, alors j’ai signé »

      En Grèce comme en Italie, les associations dénoncent des procès à la chaîne. Rares sont les magistrats qui prennent le temps nécessaire pour étudier les conditions particulières de chaque individu et les potentielles circonstances atténuantes. « Si la justice est ainsi, nous n’avons pas besoin de juges, seulement de calculatrices », ironise l’avocat des migrants Dimitris Choulis. Loin des préceptes de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme qui énoncent qu’un « accusé doit également disposer du temps et des facilités nécessaires à la préparation de sa défense ». « Vous avez un avocat que vous n’avez jamais rencontré, et votre procès durera dix minutes. Il y aura un officier de la police portuaire qui dira “oui, il conduisait le bateau”, ils liront le témoignage d’un passager du bateau qui dit vous reconnaître. Le juge calculera le nombre de passagers et vous irez en prison », résume Dimitris Choulis.

      Les interpellations reposent souvent sur des preuves très minces. Un manuel interne à l’ancienne mission militaire de l’Union européenne en Méditerranée, Opération Sophia, que nous avons pu consulter via une demande d’accès à des documents administratifs, établit ainsi une liste de critères très discutable pour identifier un passeur de migrants. Avoir une « meilleure apparence physique que les autres », être « plus âgé » ou « plus jeune », « excessivement poli ou coopératif » ou encore « d’une extrême nervosité » sont autant d’indices qui, selon le manuel, doivent piquer l’intérêt des forces de police et justifieraient des arrestations et une enquête plus approfondie.

      « Si pour une raison quelconque vous vous faites remarquer, qu’on voit votre visage, vous pouvez être accusé. »

      -- Dimitris Choulis, avocat
      « Dans ce genre de cas, vous devriez être invisible, résume Dimitris Choulis. Si pour une raison quelconque vous vous faites remarquer, qu’on voit votre visage, vous pouvez être accusé. » Des déclarations de témoins, recueillies dès leur arrivée sur la terre ferme, ou même parfois d’un unique agent de police ou des gardes-côtes, suffisent pour confondre un suspect. En Italie, les migrants prêts à désigner leurs passeurs se voient même promettre un titre de séjour. Avec les risques de délation que cela comporte. « Je n’ai jamais vu de témoins au tribunal : les seules personnes présentes, ce sont des policiers qui étaient là, jurent-ils, quand le bateau est arrivé en Grèce »,dénonce Maria, une traductrice grecque qui souhaite rester anonyme. Pendant plusieurs années, elle a officié pour la police et le procureur sur l’une des îles égéennes. Elle garde un souvenir brûlant du jour où elle a dû annoncer à un homme sa peine de cent seize années d’emprisonnement. De son côté, le porte-parole des gardes-côtes grecs assure que « toutes les poursuites criminelles ont été engagées à la suite de procédures d’enquête préliminaire détaillées et de témoignages des personnes secourues par les gardes-côtes, témoignages qui désignent clairement les facilitateurs ».

      « J’ai passé un mois en prison sans même me rendre compte que j’étais arrivé en Italie – ou même que j’étais en prison, raconte Osmane (1), trentenaire venu du Mali qui a purgé trois ans et trois mois dans une cellule italienne. J’ai reçu un papier du tribunal, en anglais. Je ne le comprenais pas, mais on m’a dit de signer, alors j’ai signé. » Ce n’est que plus tard, lorsqu’un codétenu gambien parvient à lui traduire le document, qu’il comprend qu’il a signé des aveux. « J’étais vraiment blessé, parce que c’est un mensonge, dit-il. Oui, j’ai conduit le bateau. Mais pas de mon plein gré. »

      Ils sont des centaines, « facilitateurs » ou passeurs lampistes, comme Osmane, Jassim ou Bassem, à croupir dans des cellules en Europe. Comme celles dans la prison de l’île grecque de Chios, juchée au sommet d’une colline, fait face à la mer Egée. A l’horizon, les rives de Turquie rappellent aux prisonniers la traversée périlleuse jusqu’en Grèce. Parmi les détenus : Ghazal Mohammad, un jeune Syrien condamné à trente-cinq ans en appel, un Somalien qui purge cent quarante-deux ans ou encore deux pères de famille afghans qui ont écopé de cinquante ans chacun pour avoir piloté un canot pneumatique.

      Ces jours-ci, l’ambiance y est plutôt à l’optimisme. Quelques récents procès en appel ont vu les accusés sortir libres des tribunaux des îles égéennes. Mais les avocats restent prudents. « Ce dont on rêve, c’est de changer cette législation, espère ainsi Alexandros Georgoulis, qui exerce à Chios. Mais il faudrait une initiative à l’échelle européenne : les autorités grecques ne le feront pas d’elles-mêmes. » Et les arrestations n’ont pas cessé pour autant. Récemment, deux voiliers en provenance de Turquie ont échoué sur les côtes rocheuses de l’île de Cythère, dans le sud de la Grèce, qu’ils entendaient contourner pour atteindre la Calabre. Trois Turcs ont été interpellés : le plus jeune avait 17 ans. Près de 16 000 personnes auraient ainsi accosté sur la pointe de la botte italienne depuis le début de l’année, espérant notamment échapper aux refoulements illégaux par les gardes-côtes grecs, que de nombreux migrants et associations dénoncent mais que le gouvernement nie catégoriquement. La seule issue humaine, selon Dimitris Choulis : offrir un passage sûr pour permettre aux réfugiés et aux migrants de demander l’asile. « Dans ce cas, alors, on combattrait les passeurs. Mais là, ce que l’on fait ici, c’est de voler la chose la plus précieuse que quelqu’un possède : le temps. Nous volons du temps à leurs vies. »

      (1) Les prénoms ont été modifiés pour éviter des répercussions sur les demandes d’asile en cours.

      https://www.liberation.fr/international/aux-frontieres-de-leurope-des-migrants-devenus-boucs-emissaires-de-la-gue

  • Financement des frontieres : fonds et stratégies pour arrêter l’immigration
    Funding the border : funds and strategies to stop migration
    Financement des frontieres : fonds et stratégies pour arrêter l’immigration

    Dans la première partie de ce document, nous analysons les dépenses pour l’externalisation de la gestion migratoire prévues dans le prochain budget de l’UE ; nous sommes actuellement dans la phase finale des #négociations et le rapport donne un aperçu des négociations jusqu’à présent.
    Dans la deuxième partie, nous nous concentrons sur l’évolution des politiques d’externalisation concernant la route migratoire qui intéresse le plus l’Italie : l’article de Sara Prestianni (EuroMed Rights) présente un panorama sur la situation dangereuse de violations continues des droits de l’Homme en Méditerranée centrale. Dans les deux chapitres suivants, les chercheurs Jérôme Tubiana et Clotilde Warin décrivent l’évolution de l’externalisation des frontières au Soudan et dans la région du #Sahel.

    Pour télécharger les rapports (en français, anglais et italien) :
    FR : https://www.arci.it/app/uploads/2020/12/FR_ARCI-report_Financement-de-Frontie%CC%80res.pdf
    EN : https://www.arci.it/app/uploads/2020/12/ENG_ARCI-report_Funding-the-Border.pdf
    IT : https://www.arci.it/app/uploads/2020/12/Quarto-Rapporto-di-esternalizzazione.pdf

    #asile #migrations #réfugiés #externalisation #frontières #financement #budget #Mali #Méditerranée_centrale #mer_Méditerranée #Soudan #fonds #rapport #ARCI

    –-

    ajouté à la métaliste sur l’externalisation des frontières :
    https://seenthis.net/messages/731749

    ping @_kg_ @karine4 @rhoumour @isskein

  • #Plainte contre l’Europe complice des horreurs perpétrées en Libye

    L’UE a violé ses obligations financières en soutenant sa gestion migratoire par la Libye selon plusieurs ONG. Dans une plainte déposée ce 27 avril, celles-ci réclament un audit de la #cour_des_comptes_européenne.

    Détention arbitraire, torture, viol, esclavage, etc. Les sévices dont sont victimes migrants et réfugiés dans la Libye en guerre sont largement documentés. Et la complicité de l’Union européenne qui externalise sa gestion migratoire, fortement dénoncée.

    Les ONG de défense des droits humains ont choisi un nouvel angle d’attaque pour contester la politique européenne de soutien aux autorités libyennes pour qu’elles interceptent en mer et maintiennent coûte que coûte sur leur sol les demandeurs d’asile. Elles ont décidé de frapper au porte-monnaie.

    Trois ONG portent plainte

    Trois organisations spécialisées dans l’expertise juridique et politique des migrations, le #Global_legal_action_network (réseau mondial d’action juridique, #GLAN), l’association pour les études juridiques sur l’immigration (#ASGI) et l’association italienne des loisirs et de la culture (#ARCI) ont déposé une plainte auprès de la cour des comptes européenne ce lundi 27 avril.

    La plainte est étayée par une déclaration de douze ONG de défense des droits humains, tels Amnesty International et la FIDH. Elle porte sur « les infractions aux #règles_financières de l’UE ». Les trois organisations estiment illégal le #soutien_financier européen à la gestion migratoire libyenne et réclament que la cour des comptes lance un audit sur la coopération de l’UE avec la Libye.

    Une plainte « révolutionnaire »

    « Les #lois_budgétaires de l’UE donnent mandat à l’UE de veiller à la bonne utilisation des #fonds_européens_de_développement, notamment en contrôlant et en évaluant en permanence leur impact sur les droits de l’homme. Sans garanties en matière de droits de l’homme, le programme de l’UE en Libye est en violation flagrante des lois européennes et internationales et se rend complice des souffrances humaines causées par le retour des migrants en Libye », fait valoir Valentina Azarova, conseillère juridique pour le GLAN.

    En s’appuyant sur le soutien matériel apporté à la Libye, cette plainte est « révolutionnaire », estime Leslie Piquemal du CIHRS, l’Institut d’études des droits de l’homme du Caire, cosignataire de la déclaration.

    Le respect des droits de l’homme transféré à la Libye

    L’UE a alloué, en juillet 2017, 91,3 millions d’euros au programme « #Gestion_intégrée_des_frontières_et_des_migrations_en_Libye » (#GIF) qui doit durer jusqu’à la fin de 2021. Ce programme a pour objectif « d’améliorer la capacité de la Libye à contrôler ses frontières et à assurer le sauvetage en mer, d’une manière pleinement conforme aux obligations et aux normes internationales en matière de droits de l’homme. » Ces #fonds ont été engagés par le biais du #Fonds_fiduciaire_d’urgence_de_l’Union_européenne_pour_la stabilité_et_la_lutte_contre_les_causes_profondes_des-migrations_irrégulières_et_des personnes_déplacées_en_Afrique (#EUTFA), lui-même principalement financé par le #Fonds_européen_de_développement.

    Si le Fonds européen de développement est soumis à des règles de bonne gestion financière - les projets soutenus doivent notamment être assortis d’un système visant à évaluer, atténuer et contrôler leur impact sur les droits de l’homme - l’EUTFA, lui, en est affranchi. Cette compatibilité avec les droits de l’homme a été transférée aux bénéficiaires des fonds.

    « L’absence de programmes de surveillance des droits et le risque que les fonds de développement soient détournés au profit de programmes de sécurité, comme le montre le #Fonds_fiduciaire_pour_l’Afrique, sont des préoccupations flagrantes que les institutions et les États membres de l’UE devraient chercher à corriger », fait valoir la plainte.

    En 2018, la cour des comptes avait elle-même pointé les faiblesses de l’EUTFA - manque de précision et risque d’#inefficacité -, et soulignait la nécessité de les revoir.

    https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Migrants-plainte-contre-lEurope-complice-horreurs-perpetrees-Libye-2020-04
    #justice #EU #UE #Europe #Libye #externalisation #asile #migrations #réfugiés #droits_humains

    ping @karine4 @isskein @_kg_

    • Complaint to the European Court of Auditors Concerning the Mismanagement of EU Funds by the EUTrust Fund for Africa’s ‘Support to Integrated Border and Migration Management in Libya’ (IBM) Programme Submitted by Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), and Italian Recreational and Cultural Association (ARCI)

      https://c5e65ece-003b-4d73-aa76-854664da4e33.filesusr.com/ugd/14ee1a_ae6a20e6b5ea4b00b0aa0e77ece91241.pdf

    • EU: Time to review and remedy cooperation policies facilitating abuse of refugees and migrants in Libya

      One year after the resumption of the armed conflict in Tripoli, and at a time when the humanitarian situation in Libya continues to deteriorate due to further military escalation and the spreading of the Covid-19 virus, Amnesty International, the Italian Recreational and Cultural Association (ARCI), Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EuroMed Rights), the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL), Oxfam International, Migreurop, and Saferworld are calling on EU institutions to stop any actions trapping people in a country where they are in constant, grave danger.

      EU institutions should review and reform the bloc’s policies of cooperation with Libya on migration and border management and control. During the past three years, these have facilitated the containment of tens of thousands of women, men and children in a country where they have been exposed to appalling abuse.

      The call coincides with the submission by GLAN, ASGI and ARCI of a complaint before the European Court of Auditors (ECA). In their complaint, the three organisations are requesting the body to launch an audit into EU’s cooperation with Libya. Such an audit would seek to determine whether the EU has breached its financial regulations, as well as its human rights obligations, in its support for Libyan border management.

      https://euromedrights.org/publication/eu-time-to-review-and-remedy-cooperation-policies-facilitating-abuse-

    • Stop cooperation with and funding to the Libyan coastguard, MEPs ask

      The EU should stop channeling funds to Libya to manage migration and to train its coastguard, as the violation of human rights of migrants and asylum-seekers continues.

      In a debate in the Civil Liberties Committee with representatives of the Commission, Frontex, UNHCR, the Council of Europe and NGOs, a majority of MEPs insisted that Libya is not a “safe country” for disembarkation of people rescued at sea and demanded that the cooperation with the Libyan coastguard stops.

      Most of the speakers acknowledged the challenges faced by front line countries receiving most of the migrants and asylum-seekers fleeing Libya, namely Italy and Malta, and underlined that the European common asylum system needs to be reshuffled, with a focus on solidarity among member states and respect of international legislation. Others made clear that member states are entitled to protect their borders, especially in the middle of a health crisis such as the current one. Some instead criticised the closure of ports due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that letting people drown cannot be a solution.

      Background

      According to UNHCR, the human rights situation inside Libya is extremely complicated, in the context of intensifying combat, the coronavirus crisis and the high number of economic migrants, refugees and internally displaced people needing material and humanitarian assistance. Around 1,500 people remain in detention centers in appalling conditions, arbitrary detentions continue to take place and resettlement schemes of the most vulnerable people to neighbouring countries have been suspended.

      Since the beginning of the year, 3,277 persons have arrived in Italy by sea and 1,135 in Malta. On 1 April, the EU naval Operation Irini succeeded Operation Sophia, with a focus on enforcing the arms embargo to Libya, in an attempt to contribute to the pacification of the country.

      You can watch the debate again: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/es/libe-committee-meeting_20200427-1600-COMMITTEE-LIBE_vd

      https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200427IPR77915/stop-cooperation-with-and-funding-to-the-libyan-coastguard-meps-ask

    • EU : Time to review and remedy cooperation policies facilitating abuse of refugees and migrants in Libya

      One year after the resumption of the armed conflict in Tripoli, and at a time when the humanitarian situation in Libya continues to deteriorate due to further military escalation and the spreading of the Covid-19 virus, Amnesty International, the Italian Recreational and Cultural Association (ARCI), Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EuroMed Rights), the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL), Oxfam International, Migreurop, and Saferworld are calling on EU institutions to stop any actions trapping people in a country where they are in constant, grave danger.
      EU institutions should review and reform the bloc’s policies of cooperation with Libya on migration and border management and control. During the past three years, these have facilitated the containment of tens of thousands of women, men and children in a country where they have been exposed to appalling abuse.
      The call coincides with the submission by GLAN, ASGI and ARCI of a complaint before the European Court of Auditors (ECA)*. In their complaint, the three organisations are requesting the body to launch an audit into EU’s cooperation with Libya. Such an audit would seek to determine whether the EU has breached its financial regulations, as well as its human rights obligations, in its support for Libyan border management.

      The EU cooperation with Libya on border control and its consequences

      EU Member States and Institutions have long responded to the arrival of refugees and migrants, crossing the central Mediterranean on unseaworthy and overcrowded boats, by cooperating with Libyan authorities to stop departures and ensure that people rescued or intercepted at sea would be disembarked in Libya. In recent years, this policy has been pursued through new and numerous means, including the provision of training, speedboats, equipment and various forms of assistance to Libyan authorities such as the Libyan Coast Guard and Port Security (LCGPS, under the Ministry of Defence) and the General Administration for Coastal Security (GACS, under the Ministry of Interior), both under Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA).

      EU institutions have played a key role in the definition and execution of this strategy. While significant resources have been invested in projects aimed at alleviating the suffering of refugees and migrants stranded in Libya and remain central to EU public communications on the topic, EU actions have nonetheless facilitated and perpetuated this policy of containment. The contained people have become victims of human rights violations and abuse, including indefinite, arbitrary detention and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, which such cosmetic measures have not remedied.

      Indeed, the overall policy of cooperation with the Libyan authorities on border control and management has been designed and consistently implemented at the EU level. It started with the launch of the EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM) in 2013, with the goal to support the Libyan authorities in improving and developing the security of the country’s borders. [1] It continued with the modification of the mandate of naval operation EunavforMed Sophia, tasked since June 2016 [2] to train members of the Libyan Coast Guard. It expanded with the Joint Communication by the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, dated 25 January 2017, indicating action to step up the capacity of the Libyan Coast Guard as a key priority. [3]] The strategy was completed through the Malta Declaration [4], of 3 February 2017, which explicitly indicated “training, equipment and support to the Libyan national coast guard and other relevant agencies” as its first priority. Crucially, this declaration also affirmed the intention to strengthen the mainstreaming of migration within the EU’s official development assistance for Africa, including through the mobilization of resources under the EU Emergency trust fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTFA).

      The EU has then concretely implemented this strategy through the funding of specific projects, in particular the project “Support to Integrated border and migration management in Libya” (IBM project), launched in July 2017 and funded by the EUTFA with a total of €91.3m. [5] The project has focused almost entirely on enhancing the operational capacity of Libyan authorities in maritime surveillance : assisting with the supply and maintenance of speedboats ; setting up basic facilities to coordinate operations and planning the establishment of fully-fledged operational rooms ; and supporting the definition of a Libyan Search and Rescue Region, declared by Libya in December 2017. This, notwithstanding the fact that the country cannot be considered a place of safety for the disembarkation of people rescued at sea, a fact that even the Libyan authorities admitted earlier this month. It should also be noted that, despite the assistance provided, Libya has been unable to attend to this rescue area and has benefited from extensive and decisive support from Italy to coordinate maritime operations, including many triggered following sightings by EU assets. [6]

      While this strategy has achieved its objective of drastically reducing the number of people reaching Europe via the central Mediterranean – as well as the absolute number of deaths at sea, given the plummeting departures – it has also led to dramatic human consequences. Following disembarkation in Libya, since 2016 tens of thousands of women, men and children have been transferred to detention centres nominally under the control of the Libyan Ministry of Interior, where people have been detained arbitrarily for an indeterminate period of time, and where inhumane conditions and overcrowding are accompanied by the prevalence of torture and other ill-treatment. Cases of beatings, sexual violence, exploitation, forced labour, unlawful killings, and deaths in custody due to inadequate medical treatment or lack of adequate food, have been widely documented. Even outside of detention centres, refugees and migrants are constantly exposed to the risk of kidnappings, robberies, trafficking and exploitation. [7]

      The already dire humanitarian situation has been compounded, in recent weeks, by newly escalating violence in Tripoli as well as by the spreading of Covid-19 disease. All parties to the conflict, including the GNA and the Libyan National Army (LNA), have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law. Indiscriminate attacks have resulted in deaths among civilians, including dozens of refugees and migrants killed in the bombing of the detention centre of Tajoura, near Tripoli, in July 2019. [8] The risk of an escalation of violence in Libya due to the fragile political situation should have been foreseen by EU decision-makers.

      Many risks were well-known by EU Member States’ and institutions’ officials when designing the cooperation with Libya. In particular, the systematic human rights violations in detention centres – the very centres where Libyan authorities detain people who, with EU support, they intercept at sea – have been documented widely for a number of years, including by UN agencies who have also attempted to respond to such risks through human rights due diligence steps and the adoption of restrictive measures on their programmes. [9]

      While fully conscious of the horrific violations and abuses experienced by refugees and migrants taken to Libya, EU institutions have undertaken to implement the above-mentioned strategy for the past four years.

      The EU has thus contributed to the disembarkation in Libya and transfer to detention centres of tens of thousands of women, men and children. What is more, taking into account the 2012 European Court of Human Rights decision in the case Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy, ruling that maritime pushbacks towards Libya breach the European Convention on Human Rights – this strategy has been designed to circumvent responsibility under international and EU laws, in multiple ways. [10] First, the focus on the capacity-building of the LCGPS is meant to ensure that people are intercepted at sea and subsequently disembarked in Libya by non-European actors – since both international and EU law prohibit the transfer of anyone to a country where their rights and freedoms are at serious risk. Second, EU institutions have tried to minimise the EU’s direct involvement and deflect attention from their responsibility for the serious abuses they have contributed to by focusing on funding projects implemented primarily by Member States. Finally, by transferring European
      development and other aid resources into the EUTFA, a fund that can be used with reduced transparency and limited supervision, and then using those funds to realize projects such as IBM, they have reduced avenues for holding decision-makers to account for the harmful contributions made by such actions.

      The complaint before the European Court of Auditors

      On 27 April 2020, GLAN, ASGI, and ARCI submitted a complaint before the European Court of Auditors, the EU body responsible for auditing the use and management of the EU budget.

      The complaint was drafted based on an expert opinion by academic experts on EU budget and development laws, Prof Dr Phillip Dann and Dr Michael Riegner of Humboldt University and Ms Lena Zagst of Hamburg University, published alongside the complaint. Following close to a year’s efforts to obtain information from various EU institutions about the use of EU funds, the complaint argues that EU funds used to implement the EU’s migration policy have been mismanaged, in breach of EU laws governing the EU budget, and with consequences for the EU and its Member States under international law. The complaint claims that the European Commission has failed to uphold its obligations under EU law to ensure that it is not acquiescing or contributing to serious human rights violations. In particular, it argues that provision of financial means to implement projects resulting in return to and containment in Libya of people at risk of human rights abuse, with knowledge of these consequences and in the absence of any legally required measures to mitigate such risks, engages the responsibility of the EU institutions. The complaint is unique insofar as it specifically addresses the responsibilities of EU institutions relevant to the use of EU funds in such projects, linking their financial disbursements and human rights obligations. Crucially, it is filed in the context of several previous and ongoing litigation efforts before domestic and regional courts and international bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee.

      The complaint calls on the ECA to launch an audit into the IBM programme for the misuse of EU funds and for its harmful impacts on human rights. The complaint argues, based on EU financial legislation, the illegality of the IBM programme due to inconsistency with the permissible funding objectives for development and other underlying funds disbursed by the EUTFA. Specifically, the use of EU funds in the IBM programme contravenes the obligation to follow legal requirements for the use of such funds, to ensure that use ‘does no harm’, and is compliant with EU law regarding sound financial management principles of effectiveness, efficiency and transparency. The arguments are based on the appended legal opinion and supported by information specific to the IBM programme researched and analysed by the groups.

      The human rights impact of the funding is particularly severe due to the fact that the IBM programme, now in its second phase, which is set to last until late 2021, is being implemented without any conditionality or restriction on the use of funding or review of funded activities, and without a human rights review or monitoring of the human rights impact. EU and international law, the complaint argues, requires that the EU and its Member States make the implementation of the programme conditional on the closure of detention centres and the enactment of asylum laws by Libyan authorities, amongst other concrete and verifiable steps.
      The programme should also provide for robust and effective review mechanisms that could result in its suspension if conditions are not respected.

      There is no doubt that EU institutions have been long aware of the risks involved in cooperating with Libyan authorities on border control and management. A recent investigation by The Guardian revealed how in early 2019 the Director of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, wrote to Paraskevi Michou, the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs in the European Commission, outlining issues arising from sharing information about the position of boats in distress with Libyan authorities, highlighting how “the Commission and in general institutions may face questions of a political nature as a consequence of the SAR related operational exchanges of information.” [11] Indeed, questions about the lawfulness of the cooperation have previously been asked, not only by members of civil society. As early as March 2017, a review by the UK Independent Commission for Aid Impact noted that the UK and EU work efforts to build the capacity of the LCGPS aimed at increasing the likelihood that refugees and other irregular migrants were intercepted by the LCGPS, and that those intercepted were placed in detention. The body, which reports its findings to the British Parliament, expressed concern that “the programme delivers migrants back to a system that leads to indiscriminate and indefinite detention and denies refugees their right to asylum”, and concluded that the risk of UK aid causing unintended harm to vulnerable migrants, or preventing refugees from reaching a place of safety, had been inadequately assessed. [12] Subsequently, both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe expressed deep concern about the consequences of European cooperation with Libya on border control. [13]

      In 2018, the ECA opened a first, general audit on the EUTFA, leading to the Special Report “European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa : Flexible but lacking focus”. [14] In its conclusions, the ECA found that the fund’s more general established objectives were too broad to efficiently steer action and measure impact ; that the Commission did not comprehensively analyse needs nor the means at its disposal to address them ; that the selection of projects had been fast but not fully consistent and clear ; and that, while projects have started to deliver outputs, their monitoring was deficient. Among other weaknesses, the report highlighted the lack of a specific risk assessment framework, or – in the case of projects for the North of Africa – of any documented criteria for selecting project proposals. The funding of the IBM programme reveals that these concerns have now materialised.

      The “action fiche” for the first phase of the IBM programme – i.e. the document summarizing its objectives and relevant plans and activities – acknowledges that “Under the existing Libyan legislation, once rescued, irregular migrants generally end up in detention centres which generate international concerns.” [15] The action fiche for the second phase of the programme expands on this : “The treatment of migrants in Libyan detention centres is of great concern : there is a lack of food, hygiene is abhorrent and there is a situation of total despair. Equally important is the absence of a clear and verifiable system of the rule of law, which meets the international and human rights standards. Migrants in detention centres have often no access to legal process and cannot address any misuse of power. This situation has led to criticism on the current programs financed by the EU in Libya and influenced the design of this action.” [16]

      Despite such references to human rights and international law, the programme has not provided for any measure adequate to address the role of such funding in contributing to the dire situation of refugees and migrants trapped in Libya. Other measures supposedly adopted to mitigate the human rights impact of the programme, such as trainings and political demarches, either depend on the good will of Libyan authorities, or are tokenistic. While EU officials express concern that the continuation of abuse against refugees and migrants in Libya may “further damage the narrative and reputation of the EU”, the risk of actively facilitating this abuse is not considered in the brief risk analysis provided in the action fiche for the second phase . Notably, most of the project’s impact monitoring is outsourced to the Italian Ministry of Interior, which is also in charge of implementing many of the planned actions and has repeatedly refused to disclose information or even discuss related concerns.

      As the IBM project is set to last until end 2021, it is high time to reassess this project, as well as the implications of the wider strategy adopted by the EU and its Member States to stop irregular crossings in the central Mediterranean. Human rights violations should be stopped and remedied, not encouraged and enabled. At a time when refugees and migrants stuck in Libya, as a result of EU decisions and projects, are exposed not only to serious abuse but also to the risks emerging from intensifying conflict and spreading disease, Europe should ensure the accountability of its own institutions and that any migration cooperation programmes are devised in line with its international obligations, not least in terms of their financial dimension.

      http://www.migreurop.org/article2987

    • Il processo di esternalizzazione delle frontiere europee. Tra interessi economici e violazioni dei diritti fondamentali

      Dalla normalizzazione e banalizzazione della violazione sistematica delle Convenzioni Internazionali fino al rischio democratico per una sempre più diffusa opacità dell’uso dei fondi italiani ed europei. L’ultimo rapporto Arci sull’esternalizzazione delle frontiere europee fa luce su un processo che sembra sempre più rispondere agli interessi dell’industria della sicurezza, per la quale la frontiera altro non è che l’ennesimo mercato su cui investire e fare profitto. Ce ne parla Sara Prestianni, coordinatrice del progetto #externalisationpolicieswatch

      Diventata già nel 2015 pilastro dell’agenda europea e italiana sull’immigrazione, l’esternalizzazione – ovvero la collaborazione con i paesi di origine e transito con l’obbiettivo di espellere facilmente i migranti dal territorio europeo o di bloccarli prima di raggiungere le nostre coste – si articola oggi, nel continente africano, nella logica strumentale di un legame tra migrazione, sviluppo e sicurezza. La sua combinazione con pratica costante di criminalizzazione della solidarietà porta ad un aumento, inaccettabile, dei morti per mare e per terra. L’azione del Governo Italiano s’iscrive perfettamente nella logica europea, sia nei proclami politici che nella creazione e gestione di fondi sull’esternalizzazione. Gli obiettivi sono chiari: bloccare gli arrivi via mare collaborando con i vicini Niger, Libia e Tunisia, oltre che facilitare le espulsioni strizzando l’occhio a Tunisi e a Il Cairo senza preoccuparsi del carico umano di vite che questa politica porta con sé.

      Arci, impegnata sul territorio italiano nell’accoglienza e in campagne di denuncia e sensibilizzazione, porta negli ultimi anni un’attenzione particolare alle conseguenze della dimensione esterna dell’asilo e la migrazione attraverso il progetto #externalisationpolicieswatch.

      Nel suo terzo rapporto, appena pubblicato, si concentra sulla moltiplicazione degli strumenti finanziari adottati a questo fine con un interesse particolare sull’impatto in Libia, Niger ed Egitto. Il capitolo italiano ed europeo dei fondi sulla sicurezza aumenta vorticosamente ed interessa sempre più la gestione delle frontiere all’interno e all’esterno dello spazio europeo: sistemi biometrici, moltiplicazione di missioni civili e militari impegnate nel controllo delle frontiere dalla Libia al Niger, rafforzamento del ruolo dell’Agenzia Frontex nelle operazioni di rimpatrio, meccanismi di interoperabilità dei sistemi di identificazione, elaborazioni di strumenti di sorveglianza sempre più elaborati. La gestione delle frontiere diventa un business, spingendo sempre più la politica europea e nazionale sulla migrazione verso una logica repressiva del fenomeno migratorio.

      Esternalizzare il controllo delle frontiere in Libia significa concretamente rafforzare il ruolo della Guardia Costiera Libica perché intervenga per rinviare i migranti intercettati in mare nell’inferno da cui, disperatamente, scappano. Per fare questo l’Italia ha ricevuto due tranche di contributi provenienti dal Fondo Fiduciario per l’Africa – la prima, di 46 milioni di euro, nel luglio 2017, la seconda di 45 milioni di euro nel 2018 – a cui si aggiunge il contributo annuale di 50 milioni di euro che finanziano annualmente la presenza dei nostri militari sul territorio. In Egitto la logica è simile, attraverso il supporto di competenza del Ministero dell’Interno per l’istituzione di un centro internazionale di formazione (progetto I.T.E.P.A) che prevede la “formazione della Polizia di frontiera di 22 Paesi africani per contrastare l’immigrazione clandestina e il traffico di esseri umani” in un Egitto che sta, ogni giorno di più, rafforzando il suo regime autoritario. Con il Cairo l’interesse è molteplice e riguarda anche il fronte espulsione. In flagrante violazione dell’articolo 16 della Convenzione internazionale per la protezione di tutte le persone dalla sparizione forzata che prevede, ratificandolo come ha fatto l’Italia, di non “espellere, respingere, consegnare o estradare una persona verso uno Stato qualora esistano fondate ragioni per credere che, in tale Stato, correrebbe il pericolo di essere vittima di una sparizione forzata”. Impegno che è stato violato dall’Italia per le 294 espulsioni di cittadini egiziani nel 2018, rimandati in un paese dove le sparizioni forzate sono all’ordine del giorno.

      A farne le spese sono i migranti – obbligati a rotte sempre più pericolose e lunghe – a beneficio di imprese nazionali, che del mercato della sicurezza hanno fatto un vero e proprio business, e di politici che sull’immaginario dell’invasione basano i loro successi elettorali. L’esempio di come la politica risponda sempre di più alle esigenze delle lobby dell’industria della sicurezza risulta evidente nei corridoi e nei saloni espositivi dei congressi che da Madrid a Bruxelles, da Roma a Casablanca, sono dedicati alla sicurezza e alle frontiere come nuovo settore d’investimenti. Dal “Security Research Event” al “World Border Security Congress”, rappresentanti della Commissione Europea e delle principali industrie del settore della sicurezza si incontrano e si confrontano con l’obiettivo prioritario di “ingrandire il mercato europeo della sicurezza”, come gli stessi partecipanti al SRE di Bruxelles hanno annunciato dal palco.

      Gravissime sono le conseguenze di questa deriva delle politiche italiane ed europee: dalla normalizzazione e banalizzazione della violazione sistematica delle Convenzioni Internazionali fino ad un rischio democratico per una sempre più diffusa opacità dell’uso dei fondi. La politica sembra più interessata a rispondere agli interessi dell’industria della sicurezza, per la quale la frontiera altro non è che l’ennesimo mercato su cui investire e fare profitto -cosi come lo è da tempo la guerra- dimenticandosi del costo in termine di vite umane che ne consegue.

      https://openmigration.org/idee/il-processo-di-esternalizzazione-delle-frontiere-europee-tra-interess
      #droits_humains #droits_fondamentaux

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_74gU8Fo12E