On Wednesday, 24.04.2024, the General Court of the European Union will rule on the Sea-Watch v Frontex case. Sea-Watch filed a complaint in April 2022 and a hearing was held in Luxembourg in October 2023. Previously, the border agency had refused a Freedom of information (FOI) request. The release of the withheld information is intended to prove that Frontex is involved in human rights violations in the Mediterranean.
Specifically, Sea-Watch refers to the case of a pullback on July 30, 2021, violating international law, which was witnessed by the Seabird monitoring aircraft and the Sea-Watch 3 rescue ship. Within the Maltese search and rescue zone, a boat in distress with about 20 people on board was intercepted by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and pulled back to Libya. As the non-governmental organizations Human Rights Watch and Border Forensics pointed out, it must be assumed that Frontex facilitated this illegal interception.
“Frontex systematically uses secrecy to shield itself from being held accountable for its actions. This is a dangerous pattern as we continue to learn about Frontex’s repeated involvement in human rights violations. Enforcing transparency is urgently needed as there is a risk of further violence and abuse”, says Luisa Izuzquiza, FragDenStaat Brussels Liaison Officer.
After a filed Freedom of information (FOI) request about Frontex’ operation on 30.07.2021, the border agency repeatedly refused to release the requested information. What Frontex does disclose is the amount of data it holds: it identified 73 documents, images, and a video relating to the date of the incident. Among them, 36 documents alone associated with the exchange of communications between Frontex and Libyan, Italian, and Maltese authorities in connection with their operation in the central Mediterranean Sea on 30.07.2021.
With the support of the organization FragDenStaat, Sea-Watch has therefore filed a lawsuit against Frontex before the General Court of the European Union to obtain the release of the withheld information and to prove that Frontex is complicit in human rights violations in the Mediterranean Sea.
Marie Naass, Sea-Watch: “The lawsuit against Frontex is the first step to end impunity and further human rights violations. Those responsible for rights abuses in the Mediterranean must be held accountable.”
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Find a reconstruction of the case at Border Forensics and Human Rights Watch.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
