By Ashley Young-
A group of lawyers including one from eminent Queen Mary University are determined to hold The Greek authorities to account for what they say is an abuse of Human Rights Laws.
Dr Violeta Moreno-Lax from, a senior lecturer in law at Queen Mary’s School of Law is a legal adviser to GLAN with a wealth of experience and expertise in several aspects of law. The co founder for the Centre for European and International Legal Affairs (CEILA) at Queen Mary University has joined a group of lawyers in mounting a case against the Greek authorities for their crackdown against rescuers of asylum seekers in distress, as they jointly accuse them of violating Human Rights.
Last week, they made an unprecedented application to the European Courts Of Human Rights, and want to highlight what they see as an abuse on the freedoms of those who come to the assistance of those trapped at sea.
The legal experts have accused Greek authorities of violating human-rights laws when they arrested Salam Kamal-Aldeen in 2016 for trying to help asylum-seekers at sea reach Europe’s shores.
Following a two-and-a-half-year legal ordeal and acquittal in Greek courts, lawyers with the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) acting on behalf of Salam Kamal-Aldeen, founder of the non-profit Team Humanity, have filed the application with the European Court of Human Rights, challenging Greece’s crackdown on the search and rescue actors of refugees at sea.
Greece is not alone in condemning the actions of NGO’s. Italy’s anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, accuses NGOs of being in league with human traffickers. Humanitarian vessels have for years been blocked from working in the Mediterranean and crews have been charged in Greece, Italy and Malta. The story causing this tension dates as far back as 2016.
In January 2016 Salam Kamal-Aldeen was operating a rescue boat, the Team Humanity, from the island of Lesbos, helping the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) to locate and assist three migrant dinghies in distress.
Although these had already been intercepted by the Turkish authorities by the time the Team Humanity arrived close to the border of Greek territorial waters, Mr Aldeen and his crew were arrested and charged with attempted smuggling. Their rescue vessel was confiscated and severe restrictive measures were imposed on the volunteers.
CALLS FOR POLICY CHANGE
The lawyers from GLAN, are calling for EU Member States, including Greece, to discontinue their criminalization of search and rescue activities and terminate their crackdown on civil-society organisations and individual human rights defenders assisting boat migrants.
Dr Violeta Moreno-Lax from, a senior lecturer in law at Queen Mary’s School of Law was a legal adviser to GLAN. She is an expert in migration policy who has held high positions in other universities. She said: “The Strasbourg Court has now the opportunity to condemn the growing trend in Greece and Europe of criminalising solidarity.
“Rescue is not a crime; it is a binding duty under international law. Humanitarian assistance of persons in distress at sea should never be prosecuted. Attacking civil society constitutes an assault on the main values of democracy.
“Rescuers should instead be celebrated and protected as selfless guarantors of the most basic human rights.” Dr. Moreno Lax is also Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Fellow of the Centre of European Law of King’s College London, strongly objects to the treatment by the Greek authorities on refugees which she says is a grosse violation of their Human Rights.
Exposing human rights violations
Mr Aldeen’s prosecution is part of a targeted repressive move against rescue NGOs in the EU. The application filed with the Strasbourg court exposes the illegality of the Greek authorities’ crackdown on human rights defenders working to preserve the integrity of the international system of search and rescue. This arrangement compels captains of all vessels to render assistance to persons in distress at sea, regardless of their nationality or legal status.
DISTURBING
The case against mr Aldeen is disturbing. On 14 January 2016, Mr Aldeen was operating a rescue boat, the Team Humanity, from the island of Lesbos, helping the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) to locate and assist three migrant dinghies in distress. Although these had already been intercepted by the Turkish authorities by the time the Team Humanity arrived close to the border of Greek territorial waters, Mr Aldeen and his crew were arrested and charged with attempted smuggling. Their rescue vessel was confiscated and severe restrictive measures were imposed on the volunteers.
The application filed with the Strasbourg court exposes the illegality of the Greek authorities’ crackdown on human rights defenders working to preserve the integrity of the international system of search and rescue binding on captains of all vessels to render assistance to persons in distress at sea, regardless of their nationality or legal status.
It challenges the reliance by Greece on sanctions and anti-smuggling regulations to bring solidarity-based humanitarian action to a halt. Also questioned is the legitimacy of Greece’s conduct exposing Mr Aldeen to a minimum ten years’ imprisonment for his life-saving activities. Such repressive measures, aimed ultimately at curbing unwanted maritime crossings, have been adopted as part of the implementation of the EU-Turkey “deal” of March 2016.
OPPORTUNITY
GLAN legal advisor Dr Violeta Moreno-Lax , says this case will provide an important opportunity for the Stratsbourg court to uphold the rule of law and address the level of victimisation going on.
“The Strasbourg Court has now the opportunity to condemn the growing trend in Greece and Europe of criminalising solidarity. Rescue is not a crime; it is a binding duty under international law. Humanitarian assistance of persons in distress at sea should never be prosecuted. Attacking civil society constitutes an assault on the main values of democracy. Rescuers should instead be celebrated and protected as selfless guarantors of the most basic human rights.”
GLAN legal advisor Omer Shatz (Sciences Po and Yale Law School) added: “The EU and its Member States are targeting rescue NGOs, but the victims of their policies are tens of thousands asylum seekers in distress at sea. Mass killing of civilians by drowning, pushing survivors back to camps they fled from, preventing their disembarkation at safe ports are not only human rights violations; they are crimes for which GLAN will continue to pursue accountability. The Strasbourg Court should find the persecution by prosecution strategy to be incompatible with the fundamental principles of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Established Professor of Human Rights Law and Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, Siobhán Mullally said “This case raises important questions of European human rights law concerning the role of civil society in providing humanitarian assistance to people in distress. Civil society space is increasingly under threat in Europe. The Irish Centre for Human Rights was pleased to provide assistance in these legal proceedings to defend the role of humanitarian actors in search and rescue at sea.