Eurojust and Europol support major operation against illegal immigrant smuggling Today, a major operation against an organised criminal group (OCG) involved in a widespread illegal immigrant smuggling network has successfully been concluded. Sixteen arrests have been made and others are ongoing. A large amount of assets, money and other goods were seized. Led by the Italian authorities, the case concentrated on a criminal syndicate composed of Syrian, Algerian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Tunisian suspects, who were involved in the illicit smuggling of migrants, mostly of Syrian origin, into the European Union. According to the evidence gathered so far, between 2014 and 2016, the criminal network was able to transport more than 200 migrants into and within the European Union who, by following the Balkan Route, initially reached Hungary and Italy before moving to Austria, Germany and France. Logistical support was offered to the migrants along the entire route. Italy played an important role, as the members of the OCG used this country to recruit the drivers, so called ‘passeurs’, and to provide them with ad hoc vehicles. The migrants were supposed to pay the OCG approximately 500 EUR per transport, thereby generating a large amount of illicitly gained revenue within the OCG. The Mobile Squad of Como, together with the Central Operational Services (SCO) of the Italian State Police, under the leadership of the Public Prosecution Office of Como, started the investigation in September 2015 when an Italian citizen was arrested in Hungary while driving a vehicle with several illegal migrants. The case developed further with similar arrests by the Austrian and German authorities of other drivers of vehicles used to transport illegal migrants. In December 2015, Italian Letters of Request were sent to the Austrian and German authorities, while the assistance of Eurojust was required to facilitate the execution of these Letters of Request and possibly to coordinate relevant activities. A first coordination meeting was held at Eurojust on 16 February 2016 to gather the countries most affected by the criminal activities and to discuss the way forward. The participation of Europol was also granted to ensure international police assistance and analytical support. Parallel investigations activated abroad allowed for the interception of several migrant transports and the arrest of the relevant ‘passeurs’, some of whom were the registered (straw) owners of 80 to 90 Italian vehicles used to carry out the illicit activities. The information received by Italy from the involved Member States allowed for the subsequent investigative measures and the development of the case, supported by Eurojust, Europol and the National Anti-mafia and Anti-terrorism Directorate. Eurojust played a pivotal role in today’s success by facilitating the exchange of information and Letters of Request, liaising with counterparts to solve upcoming issues with the potential to hamper the investigative progresses, organising a coordination meeting in The Hague and consistently ensuring judicial coordination throughout the entire process. Europol and its European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) supported the investigation by providing tailored Analysis Reports and deployed two specialists in Italy for this action day, equipped with the Europol mobile office for a real-time cross-check of data against Europol’s databases. The International Police Cooperation Service (SCIP) of the Italian Ministry of Interior also played a pivotal role in the coordination of this important investigation. The operation demonstrated the capacity of the relevant authorities to work together and to clearly identify the OCG, identify the main affected countries, identify the registered owners of the vehicles used for the smuggling activities as well as the recruiters and transporters, and ultimately dismantle the entire criminal network involved in this illicit activity in a coordinated and synchronised fashion. At the conclusion of the successful action day, the National Member for Italy at Eurojust made the following statement: ‘I am grateful to the involved Eurojust Desks (Austria, Germany) and to Europol for their excellent cooperation in the case, which demonstrates that by a coordination of efforts at EU level, we can efficiently assist our national judicial authorities and provide them with crucial support to dismantle criminal networks that profit from the exploitation of the migratory needs of thousands of people in serious distress’.

Schwerin, 4 September 2016: After a fiercely contested election, it has become clear that sitting Premier of Mecklenburg-Vorpormmern, Erwin Sellering, has won the election. He is the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) in that Bundesland, and has held the premiership since 2008.  The SPD has ruled the rural state on the Baltic coast with the Christian Democrats as junior coalition partners since 2006.  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the homeland of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands’ consort, Prince Hendrik (Heinrich) of the Netherlands, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1876-1934).   For further information:   Information Bureau of Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania before the EU (Director Dr. Reinhard Boest):  http://www.regierung-mv.de/Landesregierung/stk/Mecklenburg–Vorpommern-und-Europa/IB-Brüssel/  Premier Erwin Sellering: http://spd-mecklenburg-vorpommern.de/erwin-sellering/ ——— Photography by Agnes Rogowski.    

President Meron delivers remarks at an ICRC Seminar for Francophone National Judges and Experts in Abidjan Arusha, The Hague, 5 September- The President of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), Judge Theodor Meron, today delivered remarks on the role of international and national courts in prosecuting crimes under international humanitarian law at the Expert Seminar on Respect for International Humanitarian Law – the Role of Magistrates in French-speaking African countries, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The Seminar, co-organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, gathered judges, magistrates and other leading legal experts from French-speaking African countries to examine the role of local judiciary in ensuring respect for and application of international humanitarian law.   Speaking at the Seminar, President Meron highlighted the contributions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to the development of international humanitarian law. He emphasized that the two Tribunals “have helped to both exemplify and solidify the international community’s commitment to principles that the worst of crimes cannot and shall not be ignored, that principled accountability is imperative even where the worst crimes are at issue, and that ensuring respect for the rule of law is an essential step toward achieving lasting peace in the aftermath of conflict and to the effective protection of human rights”.   President Meron also stressed the essential role played by national efforts to ensure principled accountability, noting that the Statute of the Mechanism itself reflects the importance placed on national judicial processes. According to President Meron: “A consistent approach to accountability for violations of international law the world over, and especially by national courts, is the only way to ensure equality and impartiality of treatment, to ensure that the complementarity principle is successfully implemented, and to ensure fundamental respect for the rule of law.” The Seminar is part of a series of high-level events and expert meetings entitled Generating Respect for the Law, organised by the ICRC in Geneva and other key locations throughout 2016. The aim of the series is to generate discussions on a broad range of issues concerning the respect for the rule of law.