The Civil Fleet Podcast

In this episode we speak with Aleksandra from Grupa Granica, a refugee support coalition working at the Poland-Belarus border, and Ola, a member Szpila, an anti-repression feminist collective based in Warsaw.    They are going to tell us about the trial of a man called Bartek, who, in October 2024, provided humanitarian assistance to a young Somali man who wanted to apply for asylum in Poland.   However, the border guards pushed the Somali man back to Belarus without lodging his asylum application.   When Bartek told the guards that he would file a complaint against them and inform the media of their actions, they accused him of trying to "influence the official duties of the border guard," and even of threatening them.    The court is expected to give its verdict in the case on September 26. We'll try to get an update for you as soon as we can. Keep an eye on The Civil Fleet's blog.    Ola and Aleksandra are going to tell us all about the situation at Poland's border with Belarus for people on the move, and how the government has suspended the right to claim asylum at the Belarus border.    --Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes ---   For more on Szpila, see their website here: https://szpila.noblogs.org/english  For more on Grupa Granica, see their website here: https://www.sklepbezgranic.pl/en_US/index  Or follow them on Facebook: facebook.com/grupagranica For more on Grupa Granica, check out episode 64 of The Civil Fleet Podcast Read Szpila's June 2025 report on the criminalisation of solidarity here: https://szpila.noblogs.org/criminalizing-solidarity-report-on-anti-repression-efforts/  Check out episode 33 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Belarus from the Lithuanian side of the border.  And check out The Civil Fleet's stories on Belarus here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Belarus/ For more on Poland suspending asylum claims for people crossing the border from Belarus, see here: amnesty.org/en/documents/eur37/9322/2025/en/ For more on We Are Monitoring, check them out here: https://wearemonitoring.org.pl/en/home/  For more on the US and Hungarian governments designating Antifa as a terrorist organisation, see here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/20/hungary-urges-eu-to-designate-antifa-as-a-terrorist-group

We speak with Manon and Camille, two activists with F.Lotta - a horizon network organising protests across Europe this weekend and the central Mediterranean, demanding free movement for all and an end to fortress Europe's murderous policies.    Camille and Manon tell us how and why F.Lotta was formed, about all the different campaigns taking part in the continent-wide protests, and how they hope the protests will show that a different world is possible.   --Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes ---   For more on F.Lotta, see their website here: https://flotta.noblogs.org/   Follow them on Instagram: f.lotta_   For all campaigns involved with F.Lotta, see here: https://flotta.noblogs.org/campaigns   You can see F.Lotta's map of action this weekend here: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map/flotta-public-map_1261555#6/37.099/14.843   For more on Operation Sophia, see here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/eu-to-continue-supporting-the-libyan-coastguard-despite-its-fears-of-human-rights-abuses/    For more on the deaths in the Channel this week, read here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/english-channel-small-boat-sinking-children-b2823719.html   For more on the attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, read this:https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2025/09/10/activists-vow-to-sail-to-gaza-despite-second-drone-attack-on-its-ships/ 

In this episode, we speak with Jeff Crisp, formerly of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and now part of the campaign group United Against Inhumanity (UAI).    He tells us how and why UAI was set up, how it is trying to get European governments to treat people-on-the-move humanely, and about the organisation's recently published manifesto: Stop the Inhumanity at Europe's Borders.    We also discuss the far-right's anti-asylum-seeker protests in the UK, Italy's failed deportation deal with Albania, and the US's similar deals with countries in Africa and Latin America.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes --- Follow Jeff Crisp on Twitter, via @JFCrisp   Find United Against Inhumanity's website here: against-inhumanity.org   Read UAI's manifesto here: https://www.against-inhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/manifesto-short-version-2.pdf    Read Jeff's article on why refugees are going hungry across the world: https://www.against-inhumanity.org/2025/08/19/worlds-refugees-hungry/   Read Jeff's New York Times on Trump's offshoring policy here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/opinion/migration-deportation-sudan-trump.html   Or get around the NYT's paywall here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hz23t1zKeIbQxFZqG1dLkR-cDQ_Hiie29yKrhQcF6NA/edit?tab=t.0    Here's the article Jeff speaks about on why some refugees don't stay in France: https://www.against-inhumanity.org/2023/05/05/asylum-seekers-crossing-the-english-channel-why-dont-they-stay-in-france-by-marie-leveille/   Ben mentions a bunch of other people and organisations that have been on the podcast before. For more on: Open Arms, see episodes 30 and 13 No Name Kitchen, see episodes 59, 58, 51, 41, and 6 MSF, see episodes 21 and 14 Alarm Phone, see episodes 5 and 3 Frontex, see episodes 68, 54, 52, 50, 34, 31, 23, 15, 7 and 1 Tunisia, see episode 48 Gaza, see episode 67 Pylos disaster, see episodes 60 and 52   I can't find the comedian I mentioned in this episode about immigrants being the true patriots. I thought it was Doug Standhope, but it's not.   For more on the UK government's banning of Palestine Action, see here:  https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/the-civil-fleet-podcast-stands-with-palestine-action/   As usual, Ben butchers a famous phrase in this episode. The phrase often misattributed to Italian communist Antonio Gramsci is "Pessimism of the intellect. Optimism of the will."

In this episode, we speak with Lucille, operation communications manager for SOS Mediterranee.    She tells us how the Ocean Viking's crew found 25 people adrift in the Mediterranean Sea by chance in March 2024. The survivors told Lucille that they had left Libya five or six days ago with around 60 people. Most of them didn't survive.    A serious incident report published quietly by Frontex in May this year corroborates the survivors' accounts, that their boat was spotted by planes and commercial ships, but no rescue was launched.    The Frontex report also admits that its own failures — as well as those of the Libyan, Maltese and Italian maritime authorises — "likely" breached the fundamental right to life of those who died.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes ---   For more on SOS Mediterranee, see their website here: sosmediterranee.org   Follow SOS Mediterranee on social media: BlueSky: @sosmediterranee.org‬ Insta: SOS MEDITERRANEE Twitter: @SOSMedIntl   You can download Frontex's serious incident report 13681 / 2024 here: https://tinyurl.com/4bhb495d   Find the full Frontex report on The Civil Fleet's website, too: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2025/08/08/episode-75-frontex-likely-breached-refugees-right-to-life/    For more on SOS Mediterranee's old ship, the Aquarius, read this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/07/dark-day-migrant-rescue-ship-aquarius-ends-operations-mediterranean    For more on Doctors Without Borders (MSF), see episodes 67, 21 and 14 of The Civil Fleet Podcast   For more on Frontex, the European Border and Coastguard Agency, check out episodes 68, 54, 52, 50, 34, 31, 23, 15, 7 and 1   For more on Malta, see episodes: 74, 72, 37, 27, and 5   For more on Seabird, check out episodes: 65 and 1   Alarm Phone activists are interviewed in episodes: 48, 5 and 3   You can read Alarm Phone's account of all this, here:  https://alarmphone.org/en/2024/09/27/denial-of-rescue-85-people-left-to-die-in-march-2024/   Oh, and Ben mentions the episode with Nadir, ResQship's rescue ship. That is episode 71. Also, check out episode 27 for more on the Nadir. 

We speak with Silvia from the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, or PICUM.   She tells us about a report she wrote for PICUM on the criminalisation and non-judicial harassment of people-on-the-move and activists working in solidarity with them in Europe last year.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes ---   For more on PICUM, see: picum.org   You can read the PICUM report talked about in this episode here: https://picum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Criminalisation-of-migration-and-solidarity-in-the-EU-2024-report.pdf    Follow PICUM on social media:   Bluesky: @picumofficial.bsky.social‬   Twitter: @picum_ngo Instagram: picum_ngo Silvia mentioned former Green Party MEP Majid Majid. For more on him, see here: magicmagid.com   Ben mentions migrants rights campaigner Zoe Gardner. See episodes 73 and 38 of The Civil Fleet Podcast to hear from her.    Read this report from the Irish Times on the anti-migrant protests blighting Ireland recently; https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2025/04/26/anti-immigration-protest-marking-easter-rising-gathers-crowds-in-dublin/    Ben mentions previous episodes of The Civil Fleet Podcast with people-on-the-move who have been criminalised in Greece, Italy and Malta. Here are some of the episodes:   Episode 56 focuses on the Homayoun Sabetara case   Episode 53 features Nadia, a Lebanese refugee whose husband was accused of smuggling   Hanad Abdi Mohammad, a Somalian refugee who was sentenced to 142 years behind bars for supposedly captaining a boat across the Aegean, talks to us in episode 35   Check out episode 29 to hear from South Sudanese human rights campaigner Yambio David Oliver   Listen to episode 37 to hear about the El Hiblu 3   Silvia mentions No Name Kitchen. For more on them, see episodes: 63, 59, 58, 51, 41 and 6   For more on the Iuventa case, listen to episodes 54, 24, and 2   Silvia mention Francesca Cancellaro. Check out episode 36 to hear from here, and the Iuventa case   Read this for more on Italy's detention of the refugee rescue ship Nadir: resqship.org/en/statement-piantedosi   Ben makes reference to the British government banning a non-violent protest group banned by the British government. For more on that, see here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/the-civil-fleet-podcast-stands-with-palestine-action/    For more on the Kinsa case, see kinsa-case.eu/the-case-kinsa  

In this episode, migrants rights campaigner Zoe Gardner tells us why the UK Home Office should be dismantled.    In a report she recently wrote for the Green Party, Zoe says the controversial department should be split up into two new ministries.    We talk about the Home Office's acts of cruelty to migrants, refugees and people on the move, and how government policy of housing asylum seekers in unfit accommodation has created a billionaire.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes ---   You can follow Zoe on Twitter here: @ZoeJardiniere   And on Bluesky here: @zoejardiniere.bsky.social‬   Read the report, No Way Home? It is time to remove management of immigration from the Home Office here: https://carladenyer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/no-way-home-web.pdf   Zoe Gardner was last on The Civil Fleet Podcast in 2023. We spoke about UK's Illegal Migration Bill. Check out episode 38 for that   For more on the Windrush Scandal, see episode 39 of The Civil Fleet Podcast with filmmaker Sonita Gale   For more on the government removing the right to claim British citizenship from people who cross the Channel in small boats, see here: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d5wj9l8e2o    For more on the previous British government's plans to deport people to Rwanda, see episodes 62, 57, 49, 40, 38, 32, and 25   For more on Clearsprings Ready Homes, check out episode 40 with Corporate Watch.    And read this story on the numbers of asylum seekers dying in Britain's Home Office Accommodation: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/at-least-40-people-died-in-home-office-asylum-seeker-accommodation-in-2023/   Here's the book Zoe recommended, called Wreckonomics: Why it's time to end the war on everything. You can find that here: http://rubenandersson.com/wreckonomics. (Please don't buy it, or anything else, from Amazon)   Check out episode 49 to hear an interview with Paul O'Connor, then senior national officer at the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union   For more on the situation in Greece, check out episodes: 68, 60, 56, 53, 52, 50, 35, 34, 28, 26, 18, 9 and 4

In this episode, we speak with academic Cetta and foreign policy analyst Daniel about the Malta Migration Archive.    We discuss the Maltese government's refusal to save refugee lives in its own search-and-rescue zone, how it ignores civilian rescue ships, pressurises commercial ships to not rescue refugees, and how it organises pushbacks with the so-called Libyan coastguards.    Cetta and Daniel tell us how the Malta Migration Archive maps all of this, and why it is so important to expose and combat the Maltese government's silence.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   --- Show notes ---   Check out the Malta Migration Archive here: maltamigrationarchive.org   Follow them on Blue Sky on @maltamigrationarchive.org‬   And on Twitter on @MigrationMalta Cetta mentions the El Hiblu 3 – three young men who Malta arrested on terrorism charges after they helped prevent a push back to Libya. For more on that, check out episode 37 of The Civil Fleet Podcast   Daniel mentions the rescue organisation Mission Lifeline. For more on them, see here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Mission-Lifeline   Check out episodes 48, 5 and 3 for more on Alarm Phone.   Episodes 70, 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1 feature interviews with Sea-Watch activists   Cetta mentions the Tuna-pen Incident. For more on that, see here: https://timesofmalta.com/article/international-shock-over-tuna-pen-incident.16311   She also mentions the Civil Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (CMRCC). Check them out here: https://civilmrcc.eu/   Episodes 65 and 1 are focused on Sea-Watch's reconnaissance planes Seabird. Have a listen when you can.    Doctors Without Borders (MSF) get mention in the episode, and they're the focus of episodes 67, 21 and 14.    Listen to episodes 47 and 18 to hear more about how commercial shipping has been affected by Malta's refusal to take in people on the move.    Ben mentions the Dublin Agreement. Check out this explainer video by The Guardian newspaper for more on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ooecJWPcAY&t=28s&ab_channel=TheGuardian   Ben also mentions Doro, and the book about him. You can buy the book here: unbound.com/books/doro/   Listen to episode 43 for an interview with co-author and Sea-Watch activist Brendan Woodhouse.    Ben suggests that governments have never really respected international law. Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BXtgq0Nhsc&ab_channel=Chomsky%27sPhilosophy   David Yambio, South Sudanese human rights activist and founder of Refugees in Libya, is interviewed in episode 29.   

In this episode, we speak with medical doctors Hannah and James about their latest missions on the Nadir, a sailing boat operated by ResQship.   Hannah tells us about a rescue in May, when the crew found a boat carrying over 60 people, including two dead children. The people they rescued had been at sea for four days with no water.    James tells us about the Nadir's last rescue in June. After bringing 112 people to safety in Lampedusa, the Italian authorities decided to block the ship from leaving port.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com --- Show notes --- For more on ResQship, see: resqship.org/en Follow them on: Instagram and Bluesky And, listen to episode 27 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Nadir Read The Civil Fleet's coverage of the Nadir, here: bit.ly/39SnJjy Ben mentions a report by Sea-Watch on how the EU could restart state-led refugee rescues. Read that here: https://sea-watch.org/en/mare-solidale/ For more on the Piantedosi Decree, read this: https://www.sosmediterranee.org/consequence-of-the-piantedosi-decree/  Also, listen to episodes 70, 69, 68 and 65 For more on the detention of the Sea-Eye 5, see here: https://sea-eye.org/en/after-rescuing-65-people-sea-eye-5-unlawfully-detained-in-sicily/ Listen to episode 10 for more on Sea-Eye.  James mentions the Flussi Decree. Read about that here: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/60346/italys-new-flows-decree-stricter-controls-and-expanded-work-visas-for-migrants 

In this episode, Sea-Watch's search-and-rescue coordinator Hendrik tells us about the rescue of 32 people stranded on a gas rig in central Mediterranean in March.   ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com --- Show notes ---   For more on Sea-Watch, visit: sea-watch.org/en   Follow Sea-Watch on BlueSky: @en.sea-watch.org Instagram: seawatchcrew   Also, check out episodes 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Sea-Watch.   For more on the Miskar Platform rescue, see here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2025/03/04/sea-watch-rescues-32-people-left-stranded-on-a-mediterranean-gas-rig/    You can watch the 2020 YouTube interview I did with Hendrik and Dariush here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kS3OX922Vs&t=1874s&ab_channel=BenCowles (Check out my Covid beard!)   For more about the Iuventa, check out episodes: 54, 36, 24, and 2.    You can read more about the Iuventa, here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Iuventa/   Hendrik mentions the RNLI – the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a lifeboat charity based in the UK.    He also mentions the Humanitarian Pilot Project. You can find out more about them here: https://www.hpi.swiss   The Greek coastguards are fascists? • Read this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0vv717yvpeo, this: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/masked-men-attack-refugee-dinghy-off-the-coast-of-greece-as-coastguard-fails-to-launch-rescue/ this https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2021/02/11/close-to-10000-people-pushed-back-to-turkey-by-greek-coastguard-and-frontex-activists-allege/ and Google Greek Coastguards.    • See here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Greece/   • Check out episodes 68, 60, 56, 53, 52, 50, 41, 35, 28, 26, 24, 23, 22, 18, 12, 9, and 4 

In this episode, we speak with Arturo, captain of the refugee rescue ship Seapunk I.    He's going to tell us all about the Seapunks activist group and its connection with punk rock music. He also tells us about a dramatic rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea in January, in which several people died.    We also discuss how the Italian authorities force NGO ships to take the refugees to distant ports, and how this deliberately results in more refugee deaths.   ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com --- Show notes ---   For more on Seapunks, visit seapunks.de/en    Follow them on Instagram on: Sea Punks e.V    And on Bluesky here: @seapunks.bsky.social   For more on Sea-Watch, check out episodes: 43, 22, 7 and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast   Listen to episodes 48 and 20 for more on Louise Michel   For more on Iuventa, download episodes 54, 36, 24 and 2   For more on Refugee Rescue, see here: linktr.ee/RefugeeRescue   Interviews with Alarm Phone activists are in episodes 48, 5 and 3   Check out our two interviews with Brendan Woodhouse in episodes 43 and 22

In this episode, we speak with Yasha Maccanico a researcher and journalist at StateWatch, a UK-based charity focused on civil liberties, human rights and democracy in Europe.    We talk about a proposed EU law that could make it easier for states to criminalise acts of solidarity with people on the move.   Yasha also talks to us about abuses of state power in Europe under the guise of lowering immigration, the externalisation of the EU's borders in Africa, and much more.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com --- Show notes ---   For more on StateWatch, check out their work here: statewatch.org   Follow them on BlueSky: @statewatch.bsky.social Ben misquotes the late left-wing politician Tony Benn, who once said: "The way a government treats refugees is very instructive, because it shows you how they would treat the rest of us if they thought they could get away with it." In fact, the phrase may have been misattributed to Tony Benn. You can watch one of Tony Benn's most famous speeches against the US-UK' illegal invasion of Iraq, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ciGW7h7PI&ab_channel=PoliticsJOE    Yasha mentions the an independent media company Bristol Cable. You can read their work here: thebristolcable.org   Ben and Yasha talk briefly about the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol in 2020. You can read more about that here; https://exhibitions.bristolmuseums.org.uk/the-colston-statue   Here's where you can find out more about Migreurop: https://migreurop.org/?lang=en   Ben mentions an episode of The Civil Fleet with Jihed, a Tunisian activist with Alarm Phone and Louise Michelle. Check out episode 48 for that.    For more on Frontex, the European Border and Coastguard Agency, check out episodes 54, 52, 50, 34, 31, 23, 15, 7 and 1   Ben mentions previous The Civil Fleet Podcast episodes with people who have been arrested and given ludicrous sentences for driving boats or cars across borders. Check out episodes: 56, which focuses on Homayoun Sabetara, a father who fled Iran to be reunited with his daughters in Germany and was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in Greece after he was forced to drive across the border.  53 with Nadia, a young refugee woman from Lebanon who husband was arrested by the Greek authorities and accused of human smuggling after spending 10 days adrift in the Mediterranean.  35 with Hanad, a Somalian refugee who was senteced to 142 years behind bars for trying to stop his boat from sinking in the Aegean Sea and saving the lives of 33 others   Here are the links Yasha sent:   EU: New migrant smuggling law to ensure criminalisation of solidarity (December 2024) https://www.statewatch.org/analyses/2024/eu-new-migrant-smuggling-law-to-ensure-criminalisation-of-solidarity/   A new EU law on the criminalisation of migrant smuggling will be examined by the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council. The Council is due to approve its position for negotiations with the European Parliament. The existing law has been criticised for failing to prevent the criminalisation of migration and acts of solidarity with migrants and refugees. The new text, obtained by Statewatch and published here, appears likely to worsen the situation. ----- EU: Council lowers threshold for migrant smuggling prosecutions (July 2024, with PICUM) https://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/july/eu-council-lowers-threshold-for-migrant-smuggling-prosecutions/  EU institutions are discussing proposed changes to the law criminalising the facilitation of irregular migration, which has also been used to criminalise migrants and individuals acting in solidarity with them. The Belgian Council presidency presented a revised draft to other EU member states at the end of May, which would simplify the criminalisation of irregular entry, amongst other things. The draft will serve as the basis for further discussions within the Council, with Hungary now in the presidency role until the end of this year.   -----   Viewpoint, Hindering humanitarianism: European Commission will not ensure protection for those aiding sans-papiers, Chris Jones (April 2017) https://www.statewatch.org/media/documents/analyses/no-311-facilitation-directive.pdf   -----   The shrinking space for solidarity with migrants and refugees: how the European Union and Member States target and criminalize defenders of the rights of people on the move (TNI, Yasha Maccanico, Ben Hayes, Samuel Kenny, Frank Barat, September 2018) https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/web_theshrinkingspace.pdf   -----   Libya/elmasri: including full text of Shatz/Branco submission to the ICC against Italian ministers: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/february/italian-ministers-should-face-justice-for-freeing-fugitive-war-criminal-says-legal-complaint/   -----   Secrecy: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/november/italy-has-nullified-the-right-to-transparency-regarding-borders/   -----   Tunisia: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/november/tunisia-no-to-the-criminalisation-of-solidarity-with-migrants/   -----   Deportations (aka returns): http://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/january/deportations-new-role-for-frontex-as-eu-pushes-for-more-voluntary-returns/   -----   Egypt: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/january/eu-police-cooperation-with-egypt-sacrifices-people-s-rights-and-freedoms-for-security/   -----   "Outsourcing borders" externalisation bulletin project, bulletins and documents archive: https://www.statewatch.org/outsourcing-borders-monitoring-eu-externalisation-policy/     -----   To challenge border militarisation (with partners, 2023/24), Telling the story of EU border militarisation, https://www.statewatch.org/media/4000/eu-border-militarisation-narrative-guide.pdf     -----   Europe's techno-borders (2023 with EuroMed Rights) https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/europe-s-techno-borders/    -----   Frontex and interoperable databases: knowledge as power? (2023) https://www.statewatch.org/frontex-and-interoperable-databases-knowledge-as-power/    -----   Empowering the police, removing protections: the new Europol Regulation (2022) https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/empowering-the-police-removing-protections-the-new-europol-regulation/    -----   Interoperability, eu-LISA and the biometric state (2022) Building the biometric state: Police powers and discrimination https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/building-the-biometric-state-police-powers-and-discrimination/   -----   Background docs selection on interoperability and the EU JHA policy field http://www.statewatch.org/observatories/interoperability-eu-big-brother-database/    -----   Secrecy and externalisation of EU border control (2022) https://www.statewatch.org/media/3781/secrecy-and-externalisation-of-migration-control.pdf    -----   Renditions observatory http://www.statewatch.org/observatories/rendition-the-use-of-european-countries-by-the-cia-for-the-transport-and-illegal-detention-of-prisoners/ 

In this episode, we speak with Michaël Neuman from Doctors' Without Borders (MSF).   He tells us about the charity's work in Syria, and how the fall of Bashar Assad's regime could affect this.    We also discuss MSF's work in Gaza, Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinians and the fact that, unlike most conflicts, the people there have no escape.   Michaël also tells us why MSF decided it needed to help asylum seekers in the UK, and why European governments have been far too quick to pause asylum claims for Syrians.    ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com --- Show notes ---   For more on MSF, visit: msf.org.uk   Follow MSF UK on Twitter here: @MSF   Check out MSF Crash's website here: msf-crash.org/en   Michael refers to the cyclone which battered Mayotte in December. Read about MSF's work on teh Indian Ocean island here: https://msf.org.uk/article/cyclone-chido-how-msf-responding-mayotte-and-mozambique    For more on MSF's rescue ship, the Geo Barents, see here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Geo-Barents   AND, check out episode 14 of The Civil Fleet Podcast, with the ship's search-and-rescue team leader Riccardo Gatti and midwife Kira Smith.   Listen to episode 21 also, with MSF UK advocacy officer Sophie McCann.    This 2017 video by Vox is a fairly good summation of the differing sides in the Syrian Civil War: youtube.com/watch?v=JFpanWNgfQY&t=3s&ab_channel=Vox    Here is an excellent speech by the late journalist Robert Fisk in 2016 on the Arab Spring, Egypt, Isis, Iraq and the West's role in the Middle East: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gzq_uPzGfw&ab_channel=UCD-UniversityCollegeDublin    Ben mentions a previous episode with Syrian refugee Hasan. Check out episode 25 of The Civil Fleet Podcast to hear that   For more on MSF's work in Gaza, see here: https://www.msf.org/gaza-israel-war    Michael mentions an article in the Haaretz newspaper about Israeli soldiers killing any Palestinian person who crosses the Neztarim corridor. You can read that here: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-12-18/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-soldiers-expose-arbitrary-killings-and-rampant-lawlessness-in-gazas-netzarim-corridor/00000193-da7f-de86-a9f3-fefff2e50000    That article is behind a paywall, unfortunately, BUT you can read about it here (for free!) on Middle East Eye: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-indiscriminately-shot-dead-israeli-soldiers-gaza-kill-zone    Michael mentions the siege of Mosul. For more on that, see here: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/video-life-aftermath-war-mosul    For more on MSF's work in the UK, particularly at the Wethersfield migrant containment centre, see here: https://msf.org.uk/article/explainer-why-msf-treating-people-seeking-asylum-uk    For more on the conditions inside Britain's migrant containment centres, check out episode 32 with journalist Bethany Rielly (then home affairs reporter at the Morning Star newspaper, now a co-editor at the New Internationalist)   For more on Doctors of the World, see here: https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk    Ben mentions his exclusive articles revealing the number of deaths in UK Home Office Accommodation in 2022 and 2023. Read that here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/revealed 

In this episode, we speak with Katja and Matthias, co-founders of the refugee rescue group CompassCollective.      They tell us how they operate their rescue ship, the Trotamar III, to document human rights violations and save lives in the central Mediterranean.      They also tell us about the recent rescue of an 11-year-old-girl they found by chance floating alone at sea for 2 or 3 days.     ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   Support:   ko-fi.com/civilfleet   ---Show Notes---   For more on CompassCollective, see their website here: compass-collective.org/en/start     Follow them on Twitter: @boat_spotting   Mastodon: @boatspotting@digitalcourage.social   Facebook: facebook.com/compasscollectiv     Insta: compasscollective_boatspotting     And YouTube: youtube.com/@Compass_Collective/videos     For more on the Piantedosi Decree, see here: sosmediterranee.org/consequence-of-the-piantedosi-decree/ And/or check out episode 65 or The Civil Fleet Podcast     For more on Sea-Watch and their reconnaissance planes, listen to episodes: 65, 43, 22, 7 and 1     For more on Alarm Phone, check out episodes 48, 5 and 3     For more on Maldusa, listen to episode 46

In this episode, we speak with Paul Wagner, the media officer for Sea-Watch's airborne operations.    He tells us about the rescue organisation's reconnaissance missions over the central Mediterranean, the push and pullbacks they have witnessed at sea, and how the EU has refugee blood on its hands.    He also tell us about the various ways the Italian government has tried to stop them from carrying out their human rights monitoring missions.     ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   Support:   ko-fi.com/civilfleet   ---Show Notes---   For more on Sea-Watch, visit: sea-watch.org/en   For more on the Seabirds 1 & 2, see here: sea-watch.org/mission/airborne/   Follow Sea-Watch on Twitter on @seawatch_intl Bluesky: @en.sea-watch.org  Instagram: seawatchcrew   Also, check out episodes 43, 22, 7 and 1 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on Sea-Watch.    Read more about Carola Rackete here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/italys-highest-court-confirms-ngo-captain-should-not-have-been-arrested-for-saving-refugee-lives/    For more on SOS Humanity, see episodes 55 and 31   Read The Civil Fleet's coverage of Sea-Watch here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Sea-Watch   For more on the Matteo Salvini kidnapping trial. see: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/09/15/italian-deputy-pm-matteo-salvini-faces-possible-six-years-in-prison-over-migrants-case  It was SOS Humanity who rescued one person at sea in late October. They were then forced to sail to the distant port of Salerno, 870km, away from where the rescue took place. Read more about that here: twitter.com/soshumanity_en/status/1850235169568891033   You can read Ben's interbiew with Sea-Watch's Tamino Bohm, here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/07/18/the-libyan-coastguards-interceptions-of-refugees-couldnt-happen-without-europes-planes   For more on the sip captain Paul metions who was arrested for handing people over to the Libya, see here: euronews.com/2021/10/14/italy-ship-captain-convicted-after-sending-101-migrants-to-libya-in-2018   The merchant shop Ben talks about was the Maersk Etienne. You can read about that saga here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/09/13/forty-day-nightmare-finally-over-as-the-mare-jonio-brings-the-etienne-27-to-land   For more on the Maersk Etienne case, check out episodes 18 and 47   Read about Malta's treatment of the civilian rescuers here: https://thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Malta   For more on the Pylos shipwreck, see Episodes 60 and 52   Paul mention's a testimony by Ibrahim Hsian, the son of Mohammed Hsian who drowned in the shipwreck of 2nd September 2024. You can read that here: sea-watch.org/en/my-father-was-a-unique-irreplaceable-person

In this episode we speak with Ola, an activist from the Grupa Granica coalition in Poland about the situation for refugees, migrants and people-on-the-move at the country's border with Belarus.   She tells us how border guards on both sides are mistreating people-on-the-move there, about the ping-pong pushbacks across the border, and how the country's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, plans to "temporarily" ban the human right to claim asylum.    Ola also tells us about Grupa Granica's work supporting people-on-the-move with food, clothes and first aid, and how the authorities have treated the activists.     ---Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   info@civilfleet.com   civilfleet.com   Support:   ko-fi.com/civilfleet   ---Show Notes---   For more on Grupa Granica, see their Facebook page here: facebook.com/grupagranica   See their Instagram account here: instagram.com/grupagranica   For more on the Belarus border, see episode 33 with Dalia, an activist from the Lithuanian human rights and medical aid organisation, Sienos Grupe.   Ola mention Alarm Phone. For more them, visit: alarmphone.org, and find them on Twitter on @alarm_phone.   And check out The Civil Fleet's episodes 48, 5 and 3.   Read this France 24 news article on African people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine being mistreated by the Polish border guards: france24.com/en/europe/20220228-pushed-back-because-we-re-black-africans-stranded-at-ukraine-poland-border   Read this FT article about the Afghans stuck at the Poland-Belarus border in 2021, here: https://archive.ph/RL4iK    And this Amnesty International article here: amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2021/09/poland-belarus-border-crisis/    For more on the Ethiopian people who died at the Poland-Belarus border last year, see here: https://ecre.org/eu-eastern-borders-more-deaths-at-poland-belarus-border-as-reports-of-pushbacks-detention-and-crack-down-on-solidarity-continue-council-of-europe-concerned-over-pushbacks-and-criminalisation-in-lat/    Read this Al Jazeera news report on the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans to temporarily suspend the human right to claim asylum here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/12/poland-to-temporarily-suspend-asylum-rights-amid-belarus-border-tensions   Read about Finland's government also blocking the human right to claim asylum here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/12/finland-passes-law-to-block-asylum-seekers-crossing-from-russia   And this Amnesty International response to it: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/finland-emergency-law-block-people-seeking-asylum-should-never-have-passed   Ben mentions people in Europe being dubbed smugglers for giving food, water, first aid, etc to people-on-the-move. More examples of that can be found in episodes: 59, 58, 51, 50, 47, 46, 41, 37, 35, 28, 24, 20, 16, 13, 7, 4 and 2   Ola uses the phrase "Dublinned" in the episode. This is a reference to the EU's Dublin Agreement — which is essentially supposed to keep asylum seekers away from northern Europe. Check out this explainer video by The Guardian newspaper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ooecJWPcAY&t=28s&ab_channel=TheGuardian