Saving lives is not a crime. But for the past few years, European governments have increasingly tried to criminalise those brave enough to help refugees at sea and the edges of Fortress Europe.
The Civil Fleet (run by journalist Ben Cowles) intends to highlight this, and raise awareness of the activist-led refugee rescue and support missions in the Mediterranean and across the continent.
Latest Stories
Rescuers disembark people the Italian government would have left to drown
THE CREW of a charity-run refugee rescue ship disembarked over 230 people at a port in north-west Italy today. The Geo Barents, a vessel run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), initially saved 69 people, including 25 minors, from an overcrowded rubber boat in international waters off the coast of Libya on Tuesday. Prior to this…
EU-supported Libyan coastguard threatens to shoot at refugee rescuers
Despite threats NGO ship and reconnaissance plane work together to save the lives of 69 people in the central Mediterranean THE EU-supported Libyan coastguard threatened to shoot at rescue workers in the central Mediterranean today after they witnessed a refugee interception. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) shared video footage from its rescue ship, the Geo Barents,…
Protest in solidarity with Refugees in Libya
MADDIE WAKELING and CRISSIE AMISS report on gathering outside the UNHCR’s office in London last week ON TUESDAY, January 10, a lively group of people gathered outside the London offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as part of a Europe-wide action called by Refugees in Libya. Protestors gathered simultaneously outside UNHCR…
Greek prosecutors drop charges against refugee rescuers
Defendants and activists say victory is only partial as some indictments remain THE DISMISSAL of all misdemeanour charges against 24 refugee rescuers in Greece today is but a partial victory, the defendants and fellow activists said, as some felony charges still remain. The activists, who volunteered with Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), had been accused…
Greek court to rule on ‘farcical’ charges against refugee rescuers this week
Meanwhile, two Mediterranean rescue ships carrying 110 refugees struggle through high waves and 40-knot winds after Italy forces them to sail over 1,000km to safety A COURT in Greece is to decide later this week whether to drop the “farcical” charges against 24 refugee rescuers after the trial today was postponed to Friday, following procedural…
Air Partner: the Home Office’s little-known deportation fixer
In this reposted article from CORPORATE WATCH, we see how Air Partner and Carlson Wagonlit are the grease spinning the wheels of the UK deportation machine, organising logistics for mass-deportation flights for years. INTERNATIONAL travel megacorp Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) holds a £5.7 million, seven-year contract with the Home Office for the “provision of travel…
Italy’s far right government makes world’s deadliest migration route ‘even more dangerous’
Rescuers publish joint letter condemning a new decree aimed at disrupting Mediterranean refugee rescue missions ITALY’S far-right government has made one of the world’s deadliest migration routes “even more dangerous” after issuing a decree this week that disrupts the way civilian search-and-rescue (SAR) ships operate in the Mediterranean Sea, rescuers said today. One of the…
Dozens of refugees being pushed back at Lithuanian and Latvian borders with Belarus
Meanwhile, around 40 people remain stuck on an island between Greece and Turkey with no help and no clothes for over a week DOZENS of people are being pushed back at the Lithuanian and Latvian borders with Belarus and left to fend for themselves in the snowy forested area for weeks, Doctors Without Borders (MSF)…
Judge orders Italian state to pay for repairs to the Iuventa rescue ship
Meanwhile, European authorities continue to ignore the rights of hundreds of refugees still at sea even after a child is born aboard a rescue ship A JUDGE has ordered the Italian state to pay for repairs to a refugee rescue ship that was left to rust in port after it was seized in 2017. The…
Libyan Coastguards intercept 80 refugees after harassing rescuers for days
RESCUERS witnessed the EU-supported Libyan Coastguards snatch around 80 refugees in the central Mediterranean today, and force them back to Libya. The rescue ships Louise Michel and Humanity 1 saved the lives of over 100 people from a severely overcrowded rubber boat in international waters around 7am local time this morning. The crews worked together…
Refugees trapped at Poland-Belarus border are freezing, starving and sick, some are being sexually abused by border guards, activists say
Meanwhile, rescues resume in the Mediterranean despite Libyan Coastguard’s efforts to stop them PEOPLE trapped at the Poland-Belarus border are suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, hypothermia, frost bite and worse, some are even being sexually abused by border guards on both sides, activists warned today. Grupa Granica, a Polish human rights and medical aid group, and…
Rescuers relieved after France provides port, but angered by ‘dire ordeal’ they have been put through
Three-week journey almost over for the 230 remaining survivors aboard the Ocean Viking IT WAS with a mixture of relief and anger that rescuers welcomed the news today that they had finally been given permission to disembark over 200 refugees in a safe port. The Ocean Viking rescue ship is heading to Toulon, southern France,…
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The Civil Fleet 