At least 110 people faced judicial proceedings in the EU as a form of criminalisation for helping migrants, between January and December 2025. People were criminalised for trying to rescue people in distress at sea or in border areas, for participating in civil disobedience actions, providing legal aid or information, or offering food, water and\/or shelter to migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"It\u2019s quite a dystopic reality that in today\u2019s Europe, one can face trial and fines and even prison simply for helping others in need. But let\u2019s not forget that the criminalisation of solidarity is the logical extension of policies that punish migration and migrants in the first place.\"<\/strong>\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The figures stem from media monitoring and research conducted by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and its partners Groupe d\u2019information et de soutien des immigr\u00e9\u00b7es (Gisti), Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), Oxfam Italia and Ocalenie Foundation throughout 2025, in the framework of EU-funded project WING<\/a>. This is most likely an undercount, as statistical and official data is often lacking, and many cases go unreported because people fear retaliation, especially migrants themselves. In addition, some cases reported by the media might not have been detected by our monitoring system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nonetheless, this data confirms a concerning, ongoing trend observed in previous reports. At least 142 people<\/a> were criminalised in the EU in 2024. At least 117 people<\/a> in 2023, at least 102<\/a> in 2022 and at least 89<\/a> between January 2021 and March 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our monitoring found that most people who faced judicial proceeding were in Greece (50), Poland (20), Italy (19), and France (14). Other cases were found in Latvia, Malta, Slovenia, and Cyprus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among them, 41 people were criminalised for rescuing or helping migrants in distress at sea.\n17 were criminalised for participating in protests and other forms of civil disobedience. 12 were criminalised for helping people cross a border, 10 for providing legal aid and information, and 8 for offering food, water and clothing. Other actions criminalised include monitoring violations or providing shelter to migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In over 60% of the cases, people were charged with facilitation of entry, stay or transit or migrant smuggling (depending on how the crime is defined in the national legislation). Other charges used to criminalise people include belonging to or forming a criminal organisation, forgery and use of false documents, fraud, and acts of terrorism. The breadth and severity of these charges remain strikingly disproportionate to the actions criminalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The average length of the proceedings recorded by our monitoring is over three years. In 2025, court proceedings were concluded for 41 of the 110 individuals criminalised. Almost all\n(38) were acquitted or had their charges dropped. Three people were convicted and given a suspended sentence. Even if a case may end in an acquittal, trials still have heavy consequences on people\u2019s finances, personal life, and psychological wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the cases of judicial criminalisation, the report also found that at least 11 civil society organisations have been subject to administrative fines and sanctions. Most of these were search and rescue organisations operating in the Mediterranean. Moreover, in 2025, we registered at least 33 cases of non-judicial harassment, such as intimidation and smear campaigns that targeted both individuals and civil society actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new EU Facilitation Directive (<\/strong>EU<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>Facilitation<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>Directive<\/em><\/strong>)<\/strong>Criminalisation trends are likely to worsen due to a proposal to revise the current EU legislation on migrant smuggling (EU Facilitation Directive<\/a>). The proposal from the European Commission, currently under<\/a> negotiation<\/a> in the European Parliament, leaves the door open to the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance and could expand the grounds for criminalising migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silvia Carta said, \u201cThe proposed Facilitation Directive risks leading to more people being arrested or brought to trial for helping people in need, and to migrants themselves being accused of smuggling. Human dignity and human rights are core values of the European Union. As the negotiations advance, the European Parliament must uphold these values and codify into law that no one should face prosecution simply because they crossed a border or helped people in need.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n QUOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSmear campaigns, targeting, police harassment, arbitrary legislation and prosecutions against human rights defenders and civil society actors in solidarity with migrants create a landscape of criminalization designed to intimidate, exhaust, and silence. By turning lawful civic action or professional activity into high-risk endeavors, these tactics suppress dissent, erode democratic safeguards, and, with oversight weakening, allow unlawful practices against migrants\u2014particularly at borders\u2014to persist. In the end, when fear prevents people from acting in solidarity with those in need, we are witnessing not only a crisis of the rule of law, but a deeper process of dehumanization within European society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Giulia Capitani, Migration Policy Advisor at Oxfam Italy:<\/strong> \u201cThe criminalisation of actors working in solidarity with migrants is an alarming sign of an authoritarian shift within national and European institutions and legal frameworks. . We are also increasingly concerned about the spread of informal criminalisation practices, which are harder to detect and report\u2014such as hate speech, harassment and verbal abuse targeting those working behind the scenes, in reception centres or information desks, as well as individuals simply expressing solidarity with migrants. These trends are affecting a growing number of people and are creating a dangerous chilling effect, discouraging individuals and civil society organisations from engaging in civic action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough this approach, extraordinary measures that suspend fundamental rights gradually become normalized, revealing a shift in which human rights are no longer treated as universal but as privileges for only part of the population. Undocumented migrants are framed as \u2018illegal\u2019 despite having committed no crime, and those who assist them are criminalized for acts of solidarity that conflict with securitarian logic. Punishing humanitarian assistance thus preserves a permanent state of exception in which international law can be routinely suspended\u2014an evolution that contributes to the worrying erosion of civic space across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGeneral legal provisions unrelated to immigration law are being invoked to criminalise protests against immigration policies and their inhumane consequences. Thus, charges of contempt, verbal abuse, defamation, or violence against a public official are being used to defend the government and the police against criticism of their practices. Furthermore, outside any legal framework, activists or volunteers are subjected to daily harassment by the authorities, who follow them home or issue fines for the slightest reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHelping someone in need seems to be a non-negotiable matter, unless it involves helping a migrant. In that case, it becomes a controversial issue, and those offering assistance are regarded as a potential threat. Unjust accusations, smear campaigns, inspections and legal proceedings against those who help create an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion. Instead of a robust and honest debate on migration, we are getting short-term measures designed to boost approval ratings. Instead of a genuine migration policy, we are seeing more trials and walls, which only serve to intensify disinformation and radicalisation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cesaro, PICUM, gianluca.cesaro@picum.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nNotable cases:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Greece<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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NOTES TO THE EDITORS:<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Alkistis Agrafioti Chatzigianni, Advocacy Officer and Lawyer at Greek Council for Refugees (Greece):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Guia Gilardoni, Senior Researcher at ISMU Foundation (Italy):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Anna Sibley, Research Officer at Gisti (France):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Marianna Wartecka, board member of Fundacja Ocalenie (Poland):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
MEDIA CONTACTS<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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