Category Archives: Urteil

[Ägäis] Interview on theEU`s fight against “smuggling” – Wieso es nicht nur um Carola Rackete geht

Interview zur Situation der “smuggling cases” – zuerst veröffentlicht von dm aegean:

Not only European sea rescue organizations are criminalized. Hundreds of migrants seeking protection in Europe are immediately arrested after their arrival by boat on the Greek Islands. They are accused of human smuggling.

The police is looking for the people who were driving the boat. These people are either refugees who could not afford their journey in a rubber dinghy and accept to steer the boat or Turkish citizen not knowing the risk they occur.

One trial against a “smuggler” lasts less than half an hour. In nearly all cases, the accused migrants are found guilty. Their average sentence is about 44 years in prison that is to be served for about 19 years. The average fines imposed are over 370.000 Euros.

[Ägäis] The war against smuggling

Artikel zuerst veröffentlicht von dm aegean und V.H.

The following short report is based on data collected by the organization Christian Peacemaker Teams Lesvos (CPT-Lesvos) who has been monitoring smuggling trials since 2014. All graphs have been made by CPT-Lesvos. An in-depth analysis of the data collected will be published in autumn 2019.

Criminalizing Migration and Escape Aid

Many people who reach the Greek islands in rubber dinghies have been travelling for months or years to find freedom and safety in the European Union. But surviving the crossing of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece does not mean that they eventually reached safety.

On the Greek hotspot islands, some migrants are regularly arrested from their boats and directly detained and accused of human smuggling. The European Union claims:

“Fighting and preventing human smuggling and trafficking is one of the priorities of the European Union and crucial to address irregular migration in a comprehensive way.”

European Union, 15.10.2018[1]

Jamil from Afghanistan (name changed) experienced what this means. He was sentenced to 90 years in prison of which he will have to serve 25 years and was also convicted to a 13,000 Euro penalty. Jamil was captured driving a refugee boat from Greece to Lesvos. He could not afford to pay for his wife’s and his own journey, so he accepted the offer from the smuggler who asked him to drive the boat and return to get a free ride with his wife. He did not know that driving a boat would be considered a crime. While his wife now lives in Germany, he is still imprisoned – he appealed the court decision but was again convicted.

His example shows that the maxim of fighting human smuggling is not only used to criminalize civilian sea rescue as in the cases of the recent accusations against the captain of the Sea Watch 3 and the crew of the rescue boat Iuventa. It however impacts people who do not hold European passports much more directly. Many of them come as refugees themselves, intending to seek asylum in Europe. While European sea rescuers have so far only been accused for crimes but not convicted, hundreds of migrants have been sentenced to decades in prison with excessive charges.

Arresting “smugglers”

The organization Christian Peacemaker Teams Lesvos (CPT-Lesvos) has been monitoring the smuggling trials since 2014. They found that most of the people accused of smuggling are Turkish citizens and some of them migrants from other countries seeking protection in Europe. All people arrested are male. CPT-Lesvos member Rûnbîr Serkepkanî explains:

“What is common among most of them is that they are poor, they are students, they are migrants who couldn’t afford paying for the travel to the Aegean islands. (…) If you are a Turkish citizen – we have many migrants who are Turkish who have applied for asylum here in Greece – you are automatically accused of being the smuggler or the driver of the boat.”

Rûnbîr Serkepkanî, CPT-Lesvos, March 2019

Dariusz Firla from CPT-Lesvos describes how people labelled as “smugglers” are often identified:

“When the Coast Guard or FRONTEX pick up refugees at sea, they usually ask directly: “Who drove the boat?”. Sometimes people even say, “That was me,” because they don’t know it’s a crime. In some cases, it is simply a matter of refugees who paid less and drive the boat for this, but often it is Turks from poor regions who, for example, had no work and were hired by the smugglers for some pocket money to go and return the boat. Sometimes they are beaten bloody after their arrest until they arrive at the port.”

Dariusz Firla, CPT Lesvos, June 2017

The Greek Coast Guards in the port of Mytilene, Lesvos. Photo: March 2018

CPT-Lesvos interviewed Tarek (name changed) from Syria who has been detained in Chios prison for 14 months. He explained: “I was beaten from the moment I was arrested at sea until arriving at the police station. I was bleeding.”

After their arrest, people are held in pre-trial detention. CPT-Lesvos found that migrants are on average detained for 7 months before their first trial. There were also cases where the trial was postponed twice, leading to 29 months of pre-detention.

A farce of a court case

One of the major problems in court is a shocking lack of deep processing. CPT-Lesvos timed the duration of 28 trials and found that the average duration of an individual trial was only 28.5 minutes, while the average duration of a joint trial was 43 minutes. Obviously, this makes a thorough investigation of the question of guilt impossible. Furthermore, the translation within the trials is extremely poor.

Table 1: Duration of Trials

In many cases, the defendants are sentenced even if there is hardly any evidence against them. Dariusz Firla explains:

“Sometimes there is only the Coast Guard as witness. For the judges, it can be sufficient if the witness identifies the defendant as the driver of the boat. In one case, the Coast Guard even stated that he had not been present at the rescue operation himself, but that his colleague had told him that the defendant was guilty.”

Dariusz Firla, CPT Lesvos, June 2017

On top of the lack of deep processing by the judges, the quality of the court-appointed lawyers poses a major problem, especially since most lawyers are only appointed at the day of the trial and have no means to do any investigation for the defence. Sometimes, state or private lawyers also do not appear before the court, as in the case of Tarek (name changed), who had spent 14 months in pre-trial detention. Tarek’s family sold whatever they could to pay for a Greek lawyer, but the lawyer failed to show up on the day of the trial and he was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Life long sentences

In nearly all cases, the accused migrants are found guilty of human smuggling and in some cases also of entry to Greece without permission and disobedience. Rûnbîr Serkepkanî states:

“The punishment of people who are accused with or charged with smuggling is higher than murder in Greece. So it is more serious to drive a boat which carries migrants to the Greek islands than murdering people.”

Rûnbîr Serkepkanî, CPT-Lesvos, March 2019

The sentences are calculated adding factors such as the number of people transported, transport without life vests, and if their lives were put in danger (e.g. through capsizing of the boat), which is why the sentence can exceed 100 years. Since the maximum period of factual imprisonment in Greece is 25 years, the sentences is then reduced accordingly. In some cases, mitigating circumstances are taken into account, reducing the penalty to about ten years. Sometimes the deportation of the convicted person is ordered directly after the release. In fact, looking at 41 cases between 2016 and 2017, CPT-Lesvos found that the average sentence of the trials they monitored was about 44 years in prison with an expected actual duration in prison of about 19 years. In addition, there are huge fines imposed, on average more than 370.000 Euros.

Charge Average Sentence
(41 cases)		 Average time the sentence is to be served (41 cases)
(1) human smuggling (illegal transportation in order to earn money) 48 years 18 years
(1) human smuggling (illegal transportation in order to earn money)
(2) entry to Greece without permission		 51 years 19 years
(1) human smuggling (illegal transportation in order to earn money)
(2) entry to Greece without permission
(3) disobedience		 32 years 19.5 years
Table 3: Sentence and incarceration
Table 4: Sentence, Incarceration and Money Penalty

The European incarceration of the marginalized

The necessity to prevent human smuggling has been normalized in the European Union. Arrests are supported by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency FRONTEX and hardly any politician would question the necessity to prevent human smuggling at the EU external borders. The actions of the Greek state and courts are either tacitly supported or ignored.

The EU Commission, FRONTEX and interior ministries tend to mention the need to fight human smuggling in one breath with the necessity to save lives and ensure protection of humans. This was especially made possible through the convergence of discourses around human trafficking, human smuggling and escape aid.[4] The EU claims:

“While trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling are two different crimes subject to different legal frameworks they are closely interlinked.”

European Union, 15.10.2018[5]

Trafficking and smuggling may overlap in some cases, however, they are in fact two completely different issues. Trafficking is a forced transfer of people, connected to kidnapping, exploitation and modern slavery, while human smuggling is a response on the restrictive border policies preventing even refugees to be able to cross borders in a legal way.

For the majority of the worldwide population, there is no safe passage and no legal way to enter an EU country and seek asylum or receive a working visa. People are forced to embark on illegalized deadly routes and have no other option but to use the service of facilitators that are in many cases excessively overpriced and risky. The facilitation of people’s journeys is illegalized even if their right to stay is approved through an asylum decision afterwards. Destroying smuggling networks will not save lives – people rely on them to save their own lives.

As the example of Greece shows, the people who are arrested in the fight against human smuggling are exactly those already suffering most from the EU border policies. In many cases, they had no choice and are themselves seeking protection. The anti-smuggling policies at the external border of Greece only hit the smallest link in a chain. Since people often have neither information on the risks they undergo nor a choice, these policies do not even have a deterring effect and only follow a senseless ideology of punishment. Without any need, the lives of marginalized people are destroyed in devastating ways. It is migrants and refugees seeking protection – unheard and without any lobby – who have to pay with their lives and dreams for these misguided and inhumane European policies.

[1]European Union (2018): The EU’s global engagement to counter smuggling and trafficking networks, 15.10.2018.

[2] For a recent arrest, see e.g.: Ekathimerini.com, 11.07.2019: Three arrested for migrant smuggling in as many incidents.

[3] See also: CPT Europe, 01.12.2016: Seeing in the Greek Courtroom.

[4] For an in-depth analysis see: Bellezza, Sara; Calandrino, Tiziana, March 2017: Criminalization of Flight and Escape Aid. Borderline-europe.

[5]European Union (2018): The EU’s global engagement to counter smuggling and trafficking networks, 15.10.2018.

 

[Lesbos] Freispruch für die angeklagten Betroffenen des Pogroms auf Lesbos von April 2018

Wir veröffentlichen einen Bericht von Genoss*innen von Lesbos:
110 der Betroffenen des faschistischen Pogroms, das am 22. April 2018 auf dem zentralen Platz in Mytilini stattgefunden hat sind am 9ten Mai 2019 in allen Punkten freigesprochen worden.
Ihnen wurde Widerstand gegen die Staatsgewalt und illegale Besetzung oeffentlicher Raeume vorgeworfen. Der Ausgang dieses Prozesses ist sehr erfreulich- wenn auch der einzig logische, denn wie so viele Faelle von Kriminalisierung von Migrant*Innen haette er gar nicht erst vor Gericht gehen duerfen. *
Waehrend der Verhandlung wurde durch Aussagen von ZeugInnen und Angeklagten klar, dass von Seiten des Staates versucht wurde das Recht der MigrantInnen auf friedliche Versammlung zu kriminalisieren. Dies geschah unter anderem durch die Trennung der Besetzung des Platzes von den faschistischen Angriffen in jener Nacht. Gerade einmal 17 der 200-300 FaschistInnen sind nach den Geschehnissen auf dem Sapfos Square festgenommen worden, der Prozess gegen sie steht noch aus. Es wurde ausserdem offensichtlich, dass es keine Beweislage dafuer gibt dass von Seiten der BesetzerInnen Verbrechen begangen worden sind, so ist dieser Freispruch eine wichtige Anerkennung des Gerichts des Rechts auf friedliche Versammlung, das dem behaupteten Verbrechen – illegale Besetzung eines oeffentlichen Platzes- uebersteht.
* Am 22. April 2018 zogen ca. 180 MigrantInnen auf den Sappho Square, den zentralen Platz in Mytilini, um gegen die anhaltenden schlechten Zustände in Moria, unzureichende medizinische Versorgung, Inhaftierung auf der Insel und die langen Wartezeiten im Asylprozess (momentan gibt es Menschen auf der Insel, die ihren Termin zur Asylanhörung im Jahre 2023 haben). Konkreter Auslöser der Mobilisierung war der Tod eines Asylsuchenden mit schweren gesundheitlichen Problemen. Vor Ort wurden die Protestierenden über Stunden von Dutzenden Faschisten angegriffen, mit Pyro beschossen und mit Steinen beworfen ohne dass die Polizei einschritt. Es gab Dutzende Verletzte.

[PAZHernals6] Angeklagte zu Haftstrafen verurteilt

Wir dokumentieren einen Artikel der “Freiheit für die PAZ Hernals 6”-Initiative aus Wien (https://freepazhernals6.noblogs.org/) vom 24. März 2019:

2. Prozesstag und Urteil: „Heim“ ins Abschiebegefängnis
Am zweiten Prozesstag wird die Vernehmung der sechs Geflüchteten fortgesetzt. Die Justiz-Akteur_innen befragen Herrn X. (Name geändert) weiter und anschließend die zwei letzten Angeklagten.

Die Beschuldigten werden immer wieder mit Aussagen der anderen konfrontiert, die ihren eigenen widersprechen, und die Richter_innen, Staatsanwaltschaft und Anwält_innen so darstellen, als würde jeweils „gegen sie ausgesagt“ werden. Die meisten von ihnen bemühen sich dennoch um eine mit ihren Mitangeklagten solidarische und achtsame Prozessführung. Auch an diesem Prozesstag versuchen die Angeklagten, ihre schwierige Situation verständlich zu machen und kämpfen dabei gegen rassistische Justiz-Mechanismen und Demütigungen durch die Justiz-Akteur_innen an.

„Es kommt mir nicht wie das Leben vor“

Herr Y. spricht über seine Depressionen, seine Schmerzen, sein seit einem Autounfall beeinträchtigtes Kurzzeitgedächtnis. Er sagt, er hat den anderen erzählt, dass sich in Deutschland jemand am Flughafen eine Verletzung zugefügt hat, um seine Abschiebung zu verhindern, er erzählt von seinen Gedanken, sich ebenfalls zu verletzen, um nicht abgeschoben zu werden. Ereignisse, die die psychische Not der Angeklagten ausdrücken, hält Staatsanwalt Bohé Herrn Y. als „Ordnungswidrigkeiten“ vor, wie er das Aussprechen von Suizidgedanken oder eine Ohnmacht, die Schließer_innen als „vorgetäuscht“ dokumentieren, nennt. Passiert sind diese teilweise erst nach dem Brand in Untersuchungshaft, sodass fraglich ist, inwiefern sie für den Prozess relevant sind, außer um Feststellungen zu treffen wie die von Richterin Skrdla über Herrn Z. (Name geändert), bei dem es ebenfalls um sein Verhalten in Untersuchungshaft geht: „Er hält sich einfach an keine Regeln.“

Er hält sich an keine Regeln

In Herrn Z.s Aussage kommt ebenfalls – wie schon in Aussagen der anderen – zur Sprache, wie traumatisiert die Angeklagten durch das Feuer sind: „Seit dem Feuer weiß ich nicht, was ich glauben soll, es kommt mir nicht wie das Leben vor, es war sehr gefährlich.“ Richterin Skrdla hält den Angeklagten mehrmals vor, was einer von ihnen ausgesagt hat: „Den Plan, ein kleines Feuer zu machen mit viel Rauch und so auf die Situation aufmerksam zu machen und die Abschiebung zu verhindern.“ Es ist ungewöhnlich, diese Sätze von einer Richter_innenbank aus zu hören, von der aus abgelehnte Asylbescheide oder drohende Abschiebungen stets dethematisiert und schnellstmöglich vom Tisch gewischt werden, wenn sie in anderen Prozessen zur Sprache kommen.
keine homogene Geschichte

Nach Abschluss der Befragung der sechs Angeklagten ist eines klar: Der einheitlich abgestimmte, logisch inszenierte Plan der Feuersbrunst, die Version der Geschichte, die der Staatsanwalt vertritt, existiert nicht. Die Geschichten bleiben unübersichtlich, widersprüchlich, überschneiden sich und widersprechen einander, erzählen von ausweglosen Situationen, Verzweiflung, Hoffnung und der geteilten Absicht, sich den drohenden Abschiebungen nicht einfach zu fügen, dafür Verletzungen in Kauf zu nehmen und das Risiko zu sterben einzugehen.
„… meilenweit von einem Vollbrand entfernt“

Der erste geladene Zeuge ist der Brandsachverständige. Er sagt, dass das Feuer „meilenweit von einem Vollbrand entfernt“ gewesen ist und sich in der Entstehungsphase befunden hat. Seine Aussage entzieht wohl dem Vorwurf der versuchten Brandstiftung die Grundlage. Der Vertreter der Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft BIG, die Eigentümerin des PAZ Hernals ist, war nur für die Sanierung der Zelle zuständig, kann aber nichts zum Zustand der Zelle erzählen. Und zwei der drei Schließer_innen haben eine Person aus der Zelle geholt, die bewusstlos am Boden gelegen ist, aber es waren nicht sie, die die fünf anderen Angeklagten aus dem Badezimmer gebracht und das Feuer gelöscht haben, sondern die Feuerwehr, die nicht zum Prozess geladen ist. Auch sprechen sie nicht von über 50 Personen, die evakuiert worden seien, sondern von 20 bis 30 Menschen. Nach den Zeug_innen-Befragungen rudert die Richterin bezüglich versuchter Brandstiftung zurück und schlägt den Anwält_innen vor, bevor sich diese mit den sechs Geflüchteten beraten: „Falls der Fall nicht unter versuchter Brandstiftung subsumierbar ist, kommen auch schwere Sachbeschädigung, vorsätzliche oder fahrlässige Gemeingefährdung sowie vorsätzliche oder fahrlässige Körperverletzung in Frage.“ Alle Angeklagten weisen die Vorwürfe zurück, vorsätzlich gehandelt zu haben.

Ein Urteil im Sinn eines schwarzblauen Abschiebesystems
Nach einer guten Stunde Beratungszeit wird das Urteil verkündet, aus dem jede Erwähnung von Protest gegen drohende Abschiebungen und der Inszenierung eines Brandes vollkommen getilgt ist.
Die Sechs werden schuldig gesprochen, gemeinsam Kästen vor die Tür geschoben zu haben, gemeinsam einen Abschiedsbrief geschrieben und jeweils ein Handtuch angezündet und aufs Bett gelegt zu haben. In der Urteilsbegründung des Senats werden die drohenden Abschiebungen und der Versuch, sie zu verhindern, wieder zentral angesprochen: Die Abschiebungen aller hätten sehr nahe gestanden, man hätte versucht, die Abschiebung zu verhindern, mit einem Feuer, gerade groß genug, um aufmerksam zu machen.Der Schuldspruch bezieht sich auf schwere Sachbeschädigung, fahrlässige Körperverletzung sowie fahrlässige Gemeingefährdung. Der zulässige Strafrahmen von bis zu zwei Jahren ist in den Urteilen unterschritten, das Urteil bleibt weit hinter den Forderungen der Staatsanwaltschaft zurück. Das härteste Urteil trifft Herrn Z. mit zwölf Monaten unbedingter Haft (plus Umwandlung einer Vorstrafe von 10 Wochen in unbedingte Haft), über zwei der Angeklagten werden bedingte Strafen verhängt, bei einem dritten ist der unbedingte Teil der Gefängnisstrafe drei Monate lang. Diese drei sind demnach viel länger im Untersuchungsgefängnis gesessen. UrteilsverkündungDas bedeutet, dass drei der Angeklagten am selben Abend entlassen werden: “Sie gehen heute heim”, sagt die Richterin.

Das Statement der Justiz: „Wir haben keinen Einfluss, wir wissen es auch nicht“

„Werden wir trotzdem abgeschoben?“, fragt einer der PAZ 6. „Das weiß ich nicht, das liegt an der Fremdenpolizei. Wir haben da keinen Einfluss, wir wissen es auch nicht“, antwortet Richterin Skrdla, etwa zur selben Zeit, als Journalist_innen schon darüber schreiben, dass eine nahtlose Überstellung ins Abschiebegefängnis bereits organisiert ist. „Nahtlos“ beschreibt auch das Ineinandergreifen von Justiz und Abschiebesystem. Das Urteil ist nicht das laute aufsehenerregende Urteil geworden, das Protest gegen Abschiebungen mit jahrelangen Gefängnisstrafen ahndet. Es ist ein Urteil, das die Angeklagten im Vergleich zu ähnlichen Fällen der letzten Jahre, in denen es um Feuer in Abschiebegefängnissen ging, mit recht niedrigen Gefängnisstrafen belegt. Es ist ein Urteil, das aussagt: “Es ist uns egal, was ihr macht. Ihr könnt euch verletzen, ihr könnt euch töten, niemals werdet ihr ein Recht auf Aufenthalt erzwingen, indem ihr Regeln verletzt.”

Die SechsEs ist ein zurückhaltendes und nicht weniger politisches und grausames Urteil, das sich aus der Verantwortung nimmt und zu einer effizienten Abschiebungsmaschinerie beiträgt, die sich die schwarzblaue Regierung wünscht – einer Abschiebungsmaschinerie, die allerdings niemals reibungslos sein wird, weil auch dieses Urteil nicht dazu führen wird, dass Menschen ein rassistisches Abschiebe-, Justiz- und Gefängnissystem hinnehmen werden.

[Lesbos] Freispruch für die Moria 8!

Moria 8 freigesprochen

Posted on 23. February 2019 by dm-aegean,
Übersetzt von Cant evict solidarity

 

“Polizist*innen in Mytilene tun seltsame Dinge, die ich nicht verstehe.”  (Präsidentin des Obersten Gerichtshofs, Chios)

Nach 11 Monaten unrechtmäßiger Inhaftierung wurden die Moria 8 schließlich für unschuldig erklärt und freigelassen. Am 22. Februar 2019 wurden sie vor den Obersten Gerichtshof in Chios gebracht, wo die drei Richter und die vierköpfige Jury nur anderthalb Stunden brauchten, um sie von allen Anklagen freizusprechen.

Die acht Männer wurden am 19. März 2018 verhaftet und beschuldigt, bei Protesten im Lager Moria fünf Tage zuvor die Polizei und Brandstiftung angegriffen zu haben. Fünf von ihnen wurden elf Monate lang in Haft gehalten, zwei im Gefängnis Korydallos und drei im Gefängnis auf Chios. Es gab keine Ermittlungen und die Alibis, die das Fehlen von mindestens zwei der Angeklagten während der Proteste belegen, wurden weder bei der Voranhörung unmittelbar nach der Verhaftung noch bei den eingereichten Einwänden gegen die Verhaftung berücksichtigt. Keiner der 17 Polizist*innen, die während der Proteste im Lager im Einsatz waren, war zu einer Voranhörung eingeladen und gebeten worden, einen der Angeklagten zu identifizieren.

Die Anschuldigung gegen die acht Männer aus Syrien und dem Irak beruhte nur auf einer Aussage eines anderen Campbewohners. Drei Monate vor dem Prozess schickte der Mann ein Video an einen der Angeklagten, in dem er sich für falsche Anschuldigungen entschuldigteund behauptet: “Ich habe sie verraten, weil ich Probleme hatte, bedroht wurde und Mytilini verlassen musste.” Als er zuvor seine Aussage gegen die Angeklagten gemacht hatte, veranlasste die Polizei, dass er direkt zum Festland gehen kann.

Die Präsidentin des Obersten Gerichtshof hörte elf Zeugenaussagen der 17 Polizist*innen an, die allesamt aussagten,  keinen der Angeklagten erkennen zu können. Sie bat nicht einmal die drei Zeugen der Verteidigung um eine Aussage. Sie sagte: “Polizist*innen in Mytilene tun seltsame Dinge, die ich nicht verstehe. Sie brachten Menschen ins Gefängnis wegen einer Aussage, die dies nicht rechtfertigt. Ab und zu schicken sie ohne Grund Leute zum Obersten Gerichtshof. Es gibt keinen Fall. Die Polizeibehörden in Mytilene sollten sich besser koordinieren. Wenn etwas passiert, solltest du es untersuchen.”

Es war dieselbe Richterin, die ein Jahr zuvor 32 Männer aus der Gruppe der Moria 35 verurteilt hatte, obwohl es keine zuverlässigen Beweise gab.

Vici Angelidou, der Anwalt von vier der Angeklagten, sagte: “Die Richterin und die Jury hatten nicht einmal eine Sitzung, um ihre Entscheidung zu treffen, sie sahen sich an und schafften es in etwa zehn Sekunden direkt.

“Die Richterin fand klare Worte für die Anklage gegen die Ungerechtigkeit auf Lesbos, wo Migrant*innen häufig von der Polizei ins Visier genommen werden und bis zu 18 Monate ohne Untersuchung festgehalten werden können. Dennoch hat die Praxis der willkürlichen Verhaftungen und Rechtsvorwürfe nicht aufgehört. Am 28. Februar, 9. Mai und 10. Oktober 2019 wird es weitere Gerichtsverfahren gegen Menschen auf der Flucht von den Lesbos-Inseln geben.

Wir fordern die Polizei und das Gericht von Mytilene auf, diese Übergriffe auf Geflüchtetenproteste und die Kriminalisierung von Personen, die internationalen Schutz in Griechenland suchen, zu stoppen!

Quelle: https://dm-aegean.bordermonitoring.eu/2019/02/23/moria-8-declared-innocent/

[Röszke11] Kommt Ahmed H. bald frei?

Im Januar erreicht uns die Nachricht, dass Ahmed H., die letzte Person der Röszke 11 die noch in Haft in Budapest war, nach dreieinhalb Jahren Haft endlich freigelassen werden soll. Über die anstehende Freilassung hat Amnesty International Ungarn einen Artikel geschrieben (s.u.). Es zeigt sich, dass die ungarische Regierung über die Freilassung nicht sehr erfreut ist. Es gibt auch keine Fortschritte bei der Freilassung und Ahmed ist weiter in Haft. Sobald es mehr Informationen zu seiner aktuellen Situation gibt und er tatsächlich frei ist, werden wir hier darüber berichten. Free Ahmed H.!

Artikel von Amnesty International Ungarn (https://www.amnesty.eu/news/hungary-release-of-syrian-man-wrongly-convicted-of-terrorism-an-overwhelming-relief/?utm_source=ECRE+Newsletters&utm_campaign=58311b223a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_01_22_12_40&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ec9497afd-58311b223a-422315073):

Hungary: Release of Syrian man wrongly convicted of terrorism, an “overwhelming relief”

• Spokesperson available on the groundAhead of tomorrow’s early release of Ahmed H, a Syrian man who was unfairly jailed for “complicity in an act of terror” during clashes with police at the Serbia-Hungary border in September 2015, Eda Seyhan, Amnesty International’s Europe Counter Terrorism Campaigner, said:“After spending three-and-a-half years behind bars, Ahmed will finally be reunited with his wife and two young daughters. His release is an overwhelming relief for the family, but the fact is he should never have been prosecuted, let alone convicted, for this offence in the first place.

“The absurd charges against Ahmed were emblematic of the systematic scapegoating of refugees and migrants, and those seeking to defend them. His prosecution was a potent symbol of Prime Minister Orbán’s ‘illiberal democracy’. It had nothing to do with justice but was instead part of the Hungarian government’s draconian crackdown on human rights.

“By blatantly misusing terrorism-related provisions and riding roughshod over the law in their treatment of Ahmed, the Hungarian authorities showed they will stop at nothing to demonize refugees and migrants.”

Ahmed is expected to fly back to Cyprus to be reunited with his family soon after his release.

Photos and footage available are here (will be updated after his return to Cyprus) https://adam.amnesty.org/asset-bank/images/assetbox/02b445c9-8e7b-4be0-a31e-7411960c79d6/assetbox.html

For more information or to arrange an interview on the ground contact Aron Demeter demeter.aron@amnesty.hu or +36 709401043 or stefan.simanowitz@amnesty.org / +447936766445 or +44 2030365599
In August 2015, Ahmed left his family home in Cyprus to go and help his elderly parents and six other family members flee Syria and find safety in Europe. One month later, they found themselves among hundreds of refugees stranded at the Hungarian border after police fenced off the crossing with Serbia.

Clashes broke out as some refugees attempted to get through. Hungary’s police responded with tear gas and water cannon, injuring dozens. Some people threw stones, including Ahmed. But news footage also clearly shows Ahmed using a megaphone to call on both sides to remain calm before the clashes.

For this, a Hungarian court found him guilty of involvement in an “act of terror”, under Hungary’s extremely vague counter-terrorism laws, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, later reduced to 7 years and then 5 with eligibility for early release.

[Harmanli21] 4 Angeklagte weiter in Haft – andere zur “freiwilligen” Rückkehr gezwungen

Ein Artikel eines Genossen von bordermonitoring.eu (https://bulgaria.bordermonitoring.eu/):

Harmanli 21: Four stay in Lyubimets – the others have asked for repatriation

Publiziert am 29. November 2018 von mf

On the 24th and 25th of October 2018 another court session against the Harmanli 21 took place. The session was attended by seven people out of the 10 people who attended the last court cases. It was reported, that the three missing people have already asked for repatriation and they have returned to Afghanistan. Furthermore three other people out of the seven had as well asked for their repatriation. That means that at the moment four out the initial 21 accused are continuing to stay in the closed facility of Luybimets. They claimed that they will struggle to prove their innocence.

During the two days of the trial in October 30 witnesses of the events from the 24th of November 2016 were testifying. Many of them were representatives of the riot police from Kazanlak, Pleven and Plovdiv and some employees of the State Agency for Refugees (SAR), in particular the ones who are working in the Open Camp of Harmanli. Since now, no accused migrant was allowed to speak about his own perspective. Because of that since the beginning of the trial the police violence was not mentioned once in front of the court. Although the official and appointed defenders (from the state) were shortly asked about it, but they claimed that the accused did not say anything on this topic.

It is interesting to hear that during the quarantine, the camp was totally overcrowded and  it is quite astonishing that the access to the working places of the SAR employees at the open camp in Harmanli was not denied. Neither police members nor SAR workers could identify the accused migrants as part of the group of 50 people who were rioting in November 2016 – out of several thousands who were living there during this moment and protesting peacefully.

Bordermonitoring Bulgaria (BMB) notes that it is very obvious that the Bulgarian State is not interested in a clear enlightenment of what happened on the 24th of November 2016. Instead of that people, who once fled their country and once were registered as asylum seekers in Bulgaria, are urged to leave the country ‚voluntarily‘

[Aufruf zur Solidarität mit den Briançon 7]

Solidarität mit den französischen Genoss*innen! Sieben Teilnehmer*innen
der antirassistischen Demo gegen Nazis der Génération Identitaire wird
nun der Prozess gemacht. Das Urteil wird am 13.12.2018 verkündet.

Freiheit für die Briançon 7 – Solidarität ist kein Verbrechen!

Am 13.12. (kein Witz!) verkündet das Strafgericht in Gap das Urteil im Fall der
„Briançon 7“. Ihnen wird die „bandenmäßige Beihilfe zur Einwanderung von Ausländern mit
irregulärem Status auf französischem Boden“ vorgeworfen. Die Staatsanwaltschaft
forderte am Prozesstag des 08.11.2018 sechs Monate Knast auf Bewährung für fünf der
sieben Angeklagten sowie ein Jahr Knast (davon 8 Monate auf Bewährung) für die
anderen zwei. Letzteren beiden wird Rädelsführerschaft vorgeworfen.
Zum Hintergrund: Am 21. April 2018 zogen Nazis der Génération Identitaire einen Zaun
an der französischen Grenze zu Italien und bezogen dort „Stellung“ mit ca.100 Pesonen,
Zäunen und Helikoptern. Sie patrouillierten auf der Grenze und jagten Migrant*innen bis
in die Arme der Polizei. Politik, Polizei und Justiz ließen diese Aktionen ungestört zu.

Am 22. April gab es als Reaktion darauf eine spontane antirassistische Demo auf die
Provokationen. Etwa 400 Teilnehmer*innen liefen vom Grenzpass in Italien nach
Frankreich, unter ihnen einige Migrant*innen. Trotz eines massiven Polizeiaufgebotes
gelangten sie bis nach Briançon.
Dort angekommen wurden drei Personen aus der Demo heraus verhaftet und für mehr
als drei Wochen in Untersuchungshaft festgehalten. Eine weitere Person wurde nach
der Demo am Bahnhof von Polizist*innen im Zuge einer Personenkontrolle verprügelt.
Jetzt wurde das Verfahren gegen diese vier Personen sowie drei weitere eröffnet.
Offenbar ist die Teilnahme an einer solidarischen, antifaschistischen Demo strafbar,
paramilitärisches Gehabe von Rechtsradikalen an der Grenze aber nicht?! Offensichtlich will die französische Justiz ein Exempel statuieren und (praktische) Solidarität mit Migrant*innen kriminalisieren.

In Zeiten in der rassistisches Gedankengut, der sogenannte Rechtspopulismus und damit
einhergehende rechte Provokationen immer mehr zu unserem Alltag gehören, ist es an
uns gegen diese Strukturen eine starke solidarischen Haltung zu zeigen.
Diese kann und sollte ganz unterschiedlich aussehen: Seebrücke und selbstorganisierte
Rettungsboote; Kämpfe gegen Abschiebezentren; Behinderungen von Abschiebungen; Aktionen gegen Nazis und vieles mehr. Diese Art der Solidarität mag aus staatlicher Perspektive kriminell sein – wir sehen das nicht so!

Deshalb wird es zum nächsten Prozesstag mit Urteilsverkündung eine Solidaritätskundgebung vor der französischen Botschaft geben.

Kommt alle am 12.12.2018 um 18:00 Uhr zum Pariser Platz in Berlin!

Solidarität kennt keine Grenzen!
Our passion for freedom is stronger than any prison!

[Moria35] The case of the Moria 35: a 15-month timeline of injustice and impunity

A report by the Legal Center Lesbos (http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/11/29/the-case-of-the-moria-35-a-15-month-timeline-of-injustice-and-impunity):

Updates and 15-month history of trial to the case of the Moria35 from 2018 and 2017:

29th November 2018

On Thursday 18th October, the last of the Moria 35 were released from detention. Their release comes one year and three months – to the day – after the 35 men were arbitrarily arrested and subject to brutal police violence in a raid of Moria camp following peaceful protests, on July 18th 2017.

While the Legal Centre Lesbos welcomes the fact that all 35 men have finally been released, we maintain that none of them should ever have been imprisoned to begin with –– let alone for the 10 to 15 months the majority of the Moria 35 spent in punitive, unlawful incarceration.

And while freedom from unjust imprisonment is one thing, freedom in any
broader sense is a different matter. The legal status of all 35 men is
precarious. Six of them have been granted asylum in Greece, but the
majority are now fighting the rejection of their asylum cases; on appeal
or through subsequent applications which are subject to admissibility.
Three individuals have been deported. One individual was illegally
deported without having exhausted his legal remedies in Greece, while
another individual, having spent 9 months in pre-trial detention only to
be subject to a gross miscarriage of justice at criminal trial, signed
up for so-called ‘voluntary’ deportation.

Despite an abject lack of evidence against any of them, 32 of the Moria
35 were convicted of the crime of Dangerous Bodily Harm against police
officers in grossly unjust criminal trial proceedings that took place in
Chios in April 2018. Although their criminal conviction is being
appealed, these men now live under the shadow of 26-month suspended
prison sentences. By contrast, despite numerous videos, reports and
eyewitness testimonies evidencing brutal police violence against the
Moria 35, the public prosecutor decided to closed its investigation into
police brutality in June 2018. Their basis for closing the investigation
was that any use of force on the part of the police was justified,
because the Moria 35 had resisted arrest. This despite the fact that all
35 men had just been found innocent on the charge of resisting arrest.

From the Greek police’s brutally violent, racist mass-arrest of these 35
men; through the grossly unjust, punitive criminal procedure that they
were subject to; to their release from pre-trial detention in April only
for the majority to be transferred directly into immigration detention
in Moria; the case of the Moria 35 over the past 15 months constitutes a
catalogue of the forms of institutional racism and gross human rights
abuses with impunity that are enabled by the intersection of violent
immigration and criminal justice systems in Europe. The following
timeline sets these out to the best of our knowledge, with links to more
detailed reports.

18 July 2017: Police brutality and arrests
At approximately 10:00 on Tuesday 18th July 2017, refugees of different
nationalities gathered in Moria for the second day in a row of peaceful
protests, denouncing inhumane living conditions and demanding the right
to freedom of movement for everyone trapped in Lesvos. The protest
remained peaceful and calm until police arrived at around 13:00 and
began to use tear gas. Many refugees were trapped outside the camp, some
were trapped inside, there was confusion and inside Moria there were
clashes between a handful of protesters and police officers shooting
teargas and throwing rocks. By 15:00 the camp was calm. However, at
approximately 16:00 several dozen riot police who had just arrived on
the scene entered Moria and violently raided the African section of the
camp. They pulled people out of the iso-box containers they lived in,
brutally assaulted seemingly anyone they encountered including a
pregnant woman, and by 16:15 had made 35 arrests. 34 of the 35
individuals arrested were black. One of the arrestees was urgently
hospitalized due to severe injuries sustained at the hands of arresting
officers.

=> Detailed reports, video footage, and an Amnesty International report
urging investigation into police violence amounting to possible torture
can be found here: https://freethemoria35.wordpress.com/media-reports/

19 July: Criminal proceedings initiated
The 34 individuals who had spent the night in Mytilene police station
were brought into Mytilene court in order for the public prosecutor to
initiate criminal proceedings against them. The individual who had spent
the night in hospital due to police violence remained in hospital.
Arrestees reported having been beaten by the police again in the police
station overnight. Some of the men were still bleeding from visible
injuries and had been denied medical attention. Many were brought into
the courthouse barefoot. Criminal proceedings against the Moria 35 were
initiated by the public prosecutor, on a catalogue of identical charges:

Arson with intent to endanger life – contrary to Article 264 of the
Greek Penal Code
Dangerous bodily harm – contrary to Article 309
Damage of foreign property – contrary to Article 382
Using or threatening violence to force an authority or public official
to execute an act within his capacities or to refrain from a legitimate
act – contrary to Article 167
=>
http://www.legalcentrelesbos.org/2017/07/20/hearing-tomorrow-at-mytilene-court-for-moria35/

21-22 July: Preliminary inquiry
Interrogations by the Investigating Judge took place over the course of
two days. Four of the Moria 35 had this procedure postponed due to the
state’s inability to produce translators in their languages. The
procedure was also postponed for the individual who remained hospitalized.

There were solidarity protests outside the courthouse on both days. Many
of the 35 arrested had not even been present at the morning’s peaceful
protest, let alone the clashes between a small number of protesters and
riot police that ensued following the police’s excessive use of tear
gas. This led witnesses to conclude the arrests were arbitrary: that
people were targeted because of race, nationality, and location within
the camp at the time of the police raid; which itself seemed intended to
collectively punish refugees for organised, peaceful resistance. There
was an absolute lack of evidence against any of the Moria 35.

However, despite all this, the 30 individuals who were interrogated by
the Investigating Judge were formally indicted on the catalogue of
exaggerated crimes detailed above and the case was referred to trial.
Many still had visible injuries and their access to food, water and
medical care had been limited. Given the 48-hour window between arrests
and preliminary inquiry, and the lack of lawyers on Lesvos, all 30
defendants were represented by one lawyer from the Legal Centre.

12 of the defendants filed official complaints in court against the
police for excessive use of force. Many had vulnerability status and/or
serious mental and physical health conditions that should have precluded
pre-trial incarceration, which in any case should be a matter of last
resort under both Greek and International law. Yet pre-trial detention
was ordered for all 30 men pursuant to Article 282 of the Greek Code of
Criminal Procedure due to the gravity of the charges and their deemed
lack of appropriate address, despite all being registered residents of
Moria camp.

=> http://www.legalcentrelesbos.org/2017/07/30/free-the-moria-35/

25-26 July: Transfer to prisons outside Lesvos
Amidst misinformation, lack of translation and defendants’ reports of
police intimidation and racism, the 30 individuals for whom pre-trial
detention had been ordered were transferred from Lesvos and divided
between a prison on the island of Chios, and Korydallos and Avlona
prisons in Athens, which were ill equipped to deal with non-Greek
speakers and made visits from friends, family and lawyers extremely
difficult.

Late July: Preliminary inquiry
Immediately upon being discharged from hospital, the individual
hospitalized for a week due to police violence faced the investigating
judge. Though indicted with the same charges, he was not given a
pre-trial detention order and was released pending trial – though
confined to the island of Lesvos with reporting conditions.

September – November: Conclusion of pre-trial proceedings
The right to free trial under the European Convention of Human Rights
(ECHR) makes it an obligation on the state to provide translation in a
language a defendant understands. However, given the Greek state’s
continued failure to do so in the case of 4 of the Moria 35, by the end
of September, the Wolof-speaking defendant himself produced a translator
and was interrogated by the Investigating Judge. By November, the 3
Bambara-speaking defendants had done the same. Thanks to arguments from
the defense team coordinated by the Legal Centre and HIAS, regarding
residency in Moria, health conditions, and the fact that these men had
duly showed up to court once a month for as long as the state had failed
to produce appropriate translators, the 4 defendants were released with
restrictive conditions pending trial.

All 5 defendants – including the individual hospitalized by police
violence – who had been given restrictive measures were forced to remain
within the open-air prison of Lesvos, and to live in Moria camp: the
very place they had been subject to brutal police violence.

=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2017/09/30/september-report-on-rights-violations-and-resistance-in-lesvos/
=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2017/11/09/october-report-on-rights-violations-and-resistance-in-lesvos/

13 December: Pre-trial detention extended
Despite applications for release on the basis of severe health
conditions being made by defense lawyers, the Municipal Court renewed
the pre-trial detention conditions for 30 defendants for a further 6
months. There was no legal basis for denying the 30 defendants their
right to liberty and presumption of innocence (Article 5 and Article
6(2) ECHR) by ordering pre-trial detention to begin with, particularly
given that none of the defendants had previous convictions and the
prison-like character of the island of Lesvos itself precludes flight.
Pre-trial detention is disproportionately used against foreign national
defendants in Greece. Renewing such pre-trial detention was unduly harsh
and unlawful. The trial date had still not been announced.

=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/02/10/january-2018-report-on-rights-violations-and-resistance-in-lesvos/

Late February 2018: Trial date and location announced
The trial date was finally set for 20 April 2018, before a ‘mixed jury
Court’ in Chios. There was no apparent explanation for authorities’
decision to move the trial of the Moria 35 to the island of Chios: away
from the solidarity groups that had been supporting them and the many
witnesses to the events on the day of their arrest present in Lesvos.

14 March: Joint statement
The five members of the Moria 35 under restrictive measures on the
island of Lesvos released a collective statement ahead of their trial.

[Excerpt]:

“Our humanity has been denied since we stepped foot in Europe, the
supposed cradle of democracy and human rights. Since we arrived we have
been forced to live in horrible conditions, our asylum cases are not
taken seriously, and most Africans are denied residency in Europe and
face deportation. We are treated like criminals, simply for crossing a
border that Europeans can freely cross.

Now 35 of us have been accused of rioting, destroying property, and
violence, however it was actually the police who attacked us in a
violent and racist raid on the African section of Moria… It was the
police in full riot gear who attacked unarmed migrants with stones,
batons and tear gas… It was the police who damaged property by breaking
the windows and doors of the containers where we were living. Without
concern for people who were inside they threw tear gas into the closed
containers. They dragged people by their hair out of the containers.
They beat anyone they found with batons, their boots, their fists,
including a pregnant woman. It seems we were targeted only because of
our skin colour – because we are black.”

=> https://freethemoria35.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/statement35en.pdf

10-17 April: International solidarity
In the week running up to the Moria 35 trial there were events, protests
and documentary screenings in solidarity with the Moria 35 across
Europe, using the hashtag #FreetheMoria35.

The mobilisations in Greece linked the case of the Moria 35 to the case
of the Petrou Ralli 8, which was on trial the week after the Moria 35
and which shared many characteristics: refugees detained in inhumane
conditions in a notorious detention centre peacefully raising questions
in protest at their conditions, a police response of brutal violence
causing serious injury (broken bones, head injuries), followed by
seemingly arbitrary arrests, indictment on a catalogue of extreme
criminal charges, and dispersal across prisons in Greece for unlawfully
lengthy periods of pre-trial incarceration. These cases were also linked
to a further analogous case known as the ‘Moria 10’, which involved 10
individuals indicted for clashes in Moria one week before the Moria 35
arrests. The patterns of state violence and institutional racism in
these cases, which shared similar timelines, were seen as evidencing the
systematic nature of repression and criminalization of migrant
resistance to border violence in Greece.

=> https://musaferat.espivblogs.net/en/2018/03/13/call_for_solidarity/

=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/04/16/release-of-documentary-moria-35/

=> https://www.facebook.com/pg/freemoria35/posts/

=> https://cantevictsolidarityenglish.noblogs.org/post/2018/09/07/petrou-ralli-8-a-conversation-with-the-8-of-petrou-ralli/

=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/05/10/a-second-trial-to-begin-in-chios-in-continued-criminalization-of-asylum-seekers-in-lesvos/

20-27 April 2018: Trial in Chios
The Moria 35 trial finally began on 20th April 2018, before the ‘Mixed
Jury Court’ on Chios. There were only 4 days of proceedings, which ended
on 27th April. The Legal Centre Lesvos coordinated the defense and at
trial the legal defense team was made up of 6 lawyers from the Legal
Centre, Musaferat, HIAS, Lesvos Solidarity, and Aitima. All defendants
were acquitted of the following charges:

Arson with intent to endanger life – contrary to Article 264 of the
Greek Penal Code

Damage of foreign property – contrary to Article 382

Using or threatening violence to force an authority or public official
to execute an act within his capacities or to refrain from a legitimate
act – contrary to Article 167

However, 32 defendants were found guilty of the following charge:

Dangerous bodily harm – contrary to Article 309

All convicted defendants were given a 26-month suspended prison sentence.

A trial observation committee representing 6 international human rights
organisations attended proceedings, and published a detailed Trial
Observation Report of their findings. Greece is a party to the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and is therefore obliged under
international law to ‘secure to everyone within (its) jurisdiction the
rights and freedoms’ contained therein. The Trial Observation Committee
found gross breaches of the ECHR to have taken place in respect of the
defendants in the Moria 35 trial. In brief these were as follows––

Article 3 – Prohibition of inhuman treatment

The Committee found the treatment of the Moria 35 defendants to breach
the prohibitions of inhumane treatment under Article 3 ECHR. During the
trial the defendants were given no breaks when they had to go to the
toilet the trial continued without them. They were not provided with
food by the authorities during the duration of each long trial day.

Article 6 – Right to a fair trial

The disproportionate 9 month delay that the Moria 35 were subject to
between arrests and trial constituted a breach of Article 6(1) of the
ECHR, particularly given that 30 of them were subject to detention
conditions which should entail prioritization.

The Greek state systematically failed to provide competent interpreters
in a language the Moria 35 defendants understood. This was the case from
the preliminary inquiry and through the course of proceedings at trial.
At no point were any of the defendants ‘informed promptly, in a language
which he understands and in detail of the nature and cause of the
accusation against him’ Article 6(3)(a) and Article 5(2) ECHR. At the
trial stage, none of the defendants were accorded their right to ‘have
the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak
the language used in court’ as per Article 6(3)(e) ECHR. Translation was
grossly inadequate throughout proceedings. It was not individual: there
was, for example, one translator for 20 French-speaking defendants; and
it was not competent: none of the interpreters were trained or
professional. At one point in proceedings the English translator left
and was replaced by a police officer. There was no Bambara translator
provided for the Bambara-speaking defendant, who was expected to
understand the Wolof translator, himself a refugee, despite not speaking
Wolof.

Lack of translation restricted defendants’ other rights under the right
to free trial, such as their ability to present their case, equality
before the law and equality of arms. These rights under Article 6(1)
ECHR were further violated at trial by the shockingly limited amount of
time each defendant was given to present their testimony. The president
of the court only asked three questions of each of the 35 defendants and
prevented them from saying more. Despite letting the prosecution
witnesses speak for 45 minutes each on average, each of the 35
defendants was only given an average of 7 minutes to speak. Some spoke
for only 3 minutes. Given that all 35 defendants faced maximum prison
sentences of 10 years, and that half of the minutes they were permitted
were taken up with translation; this was deeply unjust. In addition, the
35 defendants shared 6 lawyers. Each lawyer was limited to 11 minutes
for the multiple clients they were representing. This amounted to an
average of 108 seconds of legal defense per defendant.

The report also evidences breaches of the presumption of innocence under
Article 6(2) and impartiality of the tribunal per Article 6(1) ECHR
stemming from the fact that there was no prosecution case against
individual defendants. Evidence on individualized circumstances and
alibis was not permitted. Prosecution witnesses could produce no proof
of the involvement of individual defendants. In the verdict, defendants
were not mentioned individually. Instead the Moria 35 were treated
throughout proceedings as a “guilty group”.

Article 14 – Prohibition of discrimination

Such treatment as a “guilty group” also goes to breaches of the
prohibition of discrimination under Article 14 ECHR. The Committee
report raises concerns that the police raid of solely the ‘African
section’ of Moria despite individuals of various nationalities having
participated in protests was racially biased. Official guidelines for
identification and recognition of suspects were not followed. The report
cites evidence of racist remarks made by the police during arrests:
“black dog”, “this is not Africa”; and racist remarks made by police
officers giving evidence at trial: “they all looked much the same”. In
its conclusion, the Trial Observation Committee report states that “The
35 defendants were not treated in the way other defendants are treated
before the Greek courts, or in the way the ECHR specifies that
defendants should be treated in Europe”.

=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/04/28/the-moria-35-trial-results-in-conviction-of-32/

=> Trial Observation Report of the Moira 35 case:
http://legalcentrelesvos.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Observation-report-Moria-35-VERSION-COMPLETE-AVEC-LES-ANNEXES.pdf

28 April: From pre-trial incarceration to immigration detention
Following the trial, 5 individuals who had been in prison in Avlona were
transferred to Petrou Rally in Athens. 25 were transferred directly to
detention in Moria, and the 5 who had been confined to Lesvos awaiting
trial traveled back to the prison-like island of Lesvos. The Legal
Centre took on the representation of the men in their asylum cases, with
some support from HIAS.

5 May: Release subject to immigration status
Only the 4 individuals among the Moria 35 who had been granted refugee
status were freed from incarceration. All others were transferred from
penal detention to administrative detention, with recommendations for
their continued detention as asylum seekers because they were seen as a
threat to public security, despite the fact that the court had granted
suspended sentences for all individuals convicted.

10 May 2018: Attempted deportations
The 7 individuals among the Moria 35 whose cases had been rejected on
appeal were scheduled for deportation on 10th May. This despite the fact
that: two of them had been denied legal representation on appeal, which
is a right under Article 44(3) of Greek law 4375; none of them had
exhausted their legal remedies; their criminal convictions were being
appealed; and all of them had claims to residence permits on
humanitarian grounds as victims and/or important witnesses to a serious
crime (police brutality) that was the subject of ongoing proceedings, as
per Article 19A of the amendments to Greek Law 4521 detailed in Law 4332.

However, the deportations of all 7 men were halted at the last minute
thanks to a mobilization of the Legal Centre, the Free the Moria 35
campaign, interventions of the Ombudsman office and the UNHCR, and
petitions to file subsequent asylum applications being made by the legal
team.

=> http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/05/05/moria35-update-26-of-the-35-remain-detained/

17 May: ‘Voluntary’ deportation
Having spent 9 months incarcerated only to be subject to a gross
miscarriage of justice, one of the Moria 35 gave up on the Greek
‘justice’ system altogether, signed for ‘Assisted Voluntary Return’ and
was deported to Turkey.

13 June: Deportations
Another 2 of the Moria 35 were deported to Turkey on the morning of 13th
June. Both men were had not exhausted their legal remedies in Greece.
One individual was deported on this day despite still having the legal
recourse of appealing in administrative court open to him. He had
received new evidence in the form of original documents corroborating
his claim for asylum or subsidiary protection. The other individual had
been declaring his express desire to exercise his right to appeal the
rejection of his asylum claim to police for days preceding his
deportation. Lawyers had also spoken to the police department informing
them of their intention to submit an appeal to the asylum service on his
behalf. Yet despite this, both men were deported to Turkey and within a
few weeks to their home countries.

=> http://www.legalcentrelesbos.org/2018/06/14/report-on-rights-violations-and-resistance/

June: Impunity in the police brutality case
Despite the fact that all of the Moria 35 had been found innocent on the
charge of resisting arrest, and despite extensive evidence of police
violence; in June the public prosecutor closed the investigation into
the police brutality that took place on 18th July 2017, on the basis
that there was a lack of evidence, and that the individuals who had
submitted claims against the police had been resisting arrest so the
police’s use of force was necessary.

May – July: Gradual release
In the months that followed the trial, 16 of the Moria 35 were gradually
released. All of the individuals released within a year of their initial
arrest still had pending asylum cases, either at first instance or on
appeal. The 7 who remained incarcerated had cruelly had their
imprisonment due to criminal proceedings seamlessly substituted for
imprisonment due to asylum proceedings: one man whose case had been
closed while he was in prison and unable to reopen it, and 6 who had
been rejected at second instance, but had submitted subsequent applications.

1 September
One of the Moria 35 was finally released, on his asylum case finally
being reopened.

5 September
Of the 6 of the Moria 35 who remained imprisoned in September, 2 men
were particularly vulnerable. They were desperate, suicidal, and had
both attempted suicide on different occasions during the 14 months they
had been incarcerated. One of the individuals was quoted as saying; “We
are not alive in here, so why would we continue to live?”

Both men were finally released on 5th September.

9 – 18 October 2018
The final 4 of the Moria 35 were released over the course of 10 days.

The Legal Centre Lesvos will continue to document the institutionalized
racism, impunity and gross human rights violations associated with this
case, and to fight for justice for the Moria 35. The criminal
convictions of 32 of the Moria 35 have been appealed. At the time of
writing an appeal date has not yet been given.

“…the authorities can not stop the truth from coming out about how
Greece and Europe treat migrants in Lesvos. It is the violent attack by
the police against African migrants which must be investigated. It is
the police who must be brought to justice.”

(Statement of 5 of the Moria 35, March 2018)

[Frankreich/Italien] Solidarität mit den Briancon7

Wir dokumentieren einen Aufruf von Unterstützer*innen:

KUNDGEBUNG zur Urteilsverkündung am 13.12.
12.12.2018 // 18.00 Uhr // PARISER PLATZ in BERLIN

SOLIDARITÄT KENNT KEINE GRENZEN !

Am 21.4.18 zogen Faschist_innen der Generation Identitiare einen Zaun an
der Französischen Grenze zu Italien und bezogen dort “Stellung” mit ca.
100 Personen, Autos und Helikoptern. Sie patrouillierten an der Grenze
und jagten Migrant_innen in die Arme der Polizei. Polizei und Justiz
ließen sie drin gewähren.
Am 22.4.18 gab es eine Antirassistische Demonstration als Reaktion auf
diese Provokation.
Etwa 400 Teilnehmer_innen, unter ihnen einige Migrat_innen, liefen vom
Grenzpass in Italien nach Frankreich. Es kam zu Verhaftungen und 3
Personen wurden für mehr als 3 Wochen in Untersuchungshaft gesteckt.
Eine weitere Personen wurde wärend einer Kontrolle durch die Polizei
verprügelt.
Nun sind 7 Personen von der französischen Justiz der “bandenmäßigen
Beihilfe zur Einwanderung von Ausländern mit irregulärem Status auf
französischem Boden” angeklagt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft fordert Strafen
zwischen sechs Monaten auf Bewährung und einem Jahr Knast.

Offensichtlich will die französische Justiz ein Exempel statuieren und
praktische Solidarität mit Migrant_innen kriminalisieren.

In Zeiten in der Rassist_innen und ihre Provokationen immer mehr zu
unserem Alltag gehören ist es an uns eine solidarische Haltung zu
zeigen, auf dem Mittelmeer in den Alpen oder in Berlin!

12.12. 18 H PARISER PLATZ
SOLIDARITÄT KENNT KEINE GRENZEN !

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Bericht über den letzten Prozesstag:

Hier ein knapper Bericht über den Prozesstag in Gap (Aufruf s.u.). Das
Urteil wird am 13.12. erwartet.

Vorgestern waren wir einige am Prozess gegen die 7 von Briançon. Dank
Presseausweis konnten wir in den Gerichtssaal, der auf 60 Plätze
bemessen war. Es war ein Marathon-Tag: der Prozess begann um 8.30h am
Morgen und endete um 01.30h in der Nacht. Wir blieben bis 22 h.

Draussen vor dem Gericht war festliche Demo-Stimmung mit zeitweise 1’000
Menschen. Leute aus mehreren franz. Kooperativen waren vertreten,
darunter Isabelle, die für “Passeurs d’infos” die Stimmung aufgefangen
hat, heute Sa, 18h auf Radio Zinzine Sendung zum Prozess auf Internet:
*www.ecouterradioenligne.com/zinzine-gap*

Der Staatsanwalt liess schlussendlich die Anklage von wegen “Beihilfe
zum illegalen Grenzübertritt als organisierte Bande” fallen, übrig
bleibt lediglich “Beihilfe zum illegalen Grenzübertritt”, was das
mögliche Strafmass mildert. Er erlangt jetzt für zwei Aktivisten aus
Briançon 12 Monate Gefängnis, 8 davon auf Bewährung, 4 in Haft. Für 5
Angeklagte (darunter die ersten sogenannten 3 von Briançon: 2 Schweizer
und 1 Italienerin) forderte er 6 Monate auf Bewährung. Das Urteil wird
am 13. Dezember verkündigt.