De:criminalize is a collective based in Berlin and established in 2024. We support people on the move criminalized for steering the boat, operating the GPS, or distributing water or food during the border crossing. Charged of “smuggling,” people are arrested, held in pretrial detention for long periods, and prosecuted in trials that lack the most basic safeguards. This happens systematically at all European borders and results in the mass imprisonment of people on the move, who are treated as perpetrators rather than as people in need of protection.
The criminalization of so-called “boat drivers” is politically motivated, deeply unjust, and largely invisible. In Greece, for example, people on the move accused of “smuggling” have received sentences of up to 500 years—with an average of 46 years—following trials that can last less than 30 minutes, often without adequate legal defence or interpretation. In Spain, of all the people accused since 2018, 95% have been convicted.
People accused usually have little or no financial resources and support structures in Europe and receive little public attention. Therefore, we connect them with lawyers, fundraise legal costs, maintain contact with their families, provide support in prison, accompany and document cases and court proceedings, and carry out campaigns and public advocacy. Since our establishment, we have supported over 65 people who were criminalized in the course of their migration, mostly in Greece and in Spain, but we are also indirectly involved with other organizations around the EU.
Overall, we advocate for an end to the criminalization of refugees and unrestricted freedom of movement for all.
In the absence of safe and legal pathways to migrate, unauthorised border crossings are the only way to access fundamental rights, including the right to asylum. The criminalization of migrants accused of being “smugglers” is yet another way to prevent border crossings, as well as to blame survivors for the deaths that result from deadly border policies.
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