Migrant helpers facing increased criminalization, according to NGO report

At least 142 individuals were prosecuted last year for helping migrants in acts that included facilitating entry, stay, or transit of people on the move, and in some cases, migrant smuggling, a report from the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) revealed.

At a media briefing on Monday (April 28), PICUM explained that their count is based on media monitoring and research conducted throughout 2024. PICUM stressed that the actual numbers are likely to be higher.

“This is the fourth consecutive year that we have observed an increase in the levels of criminalization of migrants and those who assist them,” Silvia Carta, PICUM Advocacy Officer, said.

“The phenomenon is likely to be way bigger … We have found at least 140 people criminalized for solidarity, and 91 cases involving migrants prosecuted after crossing borders. But this only reflects the cases we were able to verify through the media — many more go unreported,” she added.

PICUM noted that over 80 percent of these individuals faced charges of “smuggling” or “facilitation,” even when their actions were humanitarian in nature. Some cases involved providing people with shelter, water, and food, but also included acts of civil disobedience actions such as protesting or even alerting authorities of the presence of people in danger.

In 2023, at least 117 people faced judicial proceedings for similar actions. The year before, the number recorded was 102 people.

Criminalization across countries

PICUM recorded the highest number of criminalization cases in Greece (62), Italy (29), and Poland (17). Among this number, 88 people were criminalized for rescuing or helping migrants in distress at sea, while 21 were criminalized for providing food, water, or clothing, and 17 for protesting.

In Italy, two women who arrived in the country by boat in 2023 were accused of smuggling and imprisoned for sharing food and water with fellow travellers on board, states the report. As a result, one of the women was separated from her son for eight months before being placed under house arrest. The other woman spent ten months in prison, where she went on a hunger strike in protest. She was finally acquitted in February.

In Poland, five people potentially face up to five years in prison for assisting migrants near the Belarus border, according to PICUM. The five are accused of facilitating irregular border crossings and providing support, such as transporting them a short distance within Polish territory.

In Bulgaria, seven international volunteers were arrested in October after helping people in distress at the country’s border with Turkey. The activists were reportedly held in dire conditions and were forced to sign documents that contained details of the charges against them in Bulgarian, without receiving any translation.

Prison sentences longer than their lives

In Greece, more than 40 migrants between the ages of 17-21 are accused of migrant trafficking, reportedly because of actions such as steering the boat or taking over another task while on board. The group fled Sudan and arrived in Greece by boat, states PICUM.

PICUM reported that one had already been sentenced to 300 years and a 3 million euro fine at the beginning of March. The group described the cases as emblematic of a framework and a practice that severely criminalizes migrants and asylum seekers.

The penalties rack up because charges are multiplied per passenger and treated as multiple felonies.

According to PICUM, the accused are “currently faced with prison sentences that are longer than the lives that they have lived so far.”

Human rights defenders also a target

Human rights defenders, search-and-rescue workers, and civil society activists were also included in the list of people punished for providing aid.

One case PICUM recorded included that of Henri Stoll, former mayor of the French town of Kaysersberg. Stoll reported helping an irregular migrant who had lived in the town for nearly 10 years. The assistance Stoll extended included offering an apartment where the man could temporarily live, loaning his car, and helping him with some money when he lost his job. Stoll was found guilty but did not have to serve his sentence.

EU law likely to make things worse

PICUM warns that the European Commission’s proposed reform of the EU Facilitation Directive will further exacerbate this trend. The draft does not exempt acts of humanitarian assistance from prosecution, potentially putting more volunteers, NGOs, and migrants at risk.

The criminalization of helping migrants, PICUM argued, is a deliberate political choice. The report calls on EU institutions and member states to enact binding legal safeguards for solidarity actions and ensure migrants’ rights are protected.

“Solidarity (with migrants) is not a crime. But across Europe, governments are treating it as such,” PICUM concluded.