Only judges can stop Frontex: Pulled back to hell in Libya with Europe's Helping Hand

1st of October marks five years since the Gargaresh attack in Tripoli, a mass raid on refugees and

migrants that led directly to the founding of the organization Refugees in Libya. Five years on,

survivors and communities are still resisting, documenting and demanding accountability. This

event marks the anniversary and takes stock of what has and has not changed since then with a

particular focus on establishing international and European accountability.

Every year, thousands of people try to cross the Central Mediterranean in search of safety. Many drown; many others are intercepted at sea and returned to Libya, where they face detention, torture and sexual violence. Frontex’s aerial surveillance and information-sharing facilitates these interceptions and subsequent pullbacks to Libya. Sea-Watch works to save lives in the Central Mediterranean and to document these interceptions, while facing threats and ongoing criminalisation of solidarity.