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The Civil Fleet PodcastAuthor: Ben Cowles
Saving lives at sea is not a crime But for the past few years, European states have treated those brave enough to save refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean as if they were breaking the law. Welcome to The Civil Fleet, a podcast by civilfleet.com that focuses on the NGO refugee rescuers in the central Mediterranean and beyond. Language: en Genres: News, News Commentary, Politics Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 85: Greece's criminalisation of Sudanese refugees
Wednesday, 17 December, 2025
In this episode, we speak with Mustafa, Bairbre and Louise about the treatment of Sudanese refugees in Greece. Mustafa tells us about the revolution and ongoing proxy war in Sudan. He'll also tell us why he had to flee the country, and the Kafkaesque situation he found himself in after seeking asylum in Greece. Louise and Bairbre tell us more about the situation for people on the move in Greece, how refugees (including children) are being criminalised and sentenced to decades (and sometimes hundreds of years!) in prison for allegedly captaining a boat across the sea or driving a car across the border. We'll also hear about the situation inside Greece's migrant detention camps, and how the solidarity groups Mataris Sudan Solidarity Committee and 50 Out Of Many are organising with criminalised and imprisoned Sudanese refugees. ---Support The Civil Fleet Podcast--- ko-fi.com/civilfleet ---Get in touch--- Twitter: @FleetCivil Mastodon: @civilfleet@kolektiva.social Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social Instagram: thecivilfleet info@civilfleet.com civilfleet.com ---Show notes--- Don't know much about the conflict in Sudan? See this video from Al Jazeera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL0nz1ZeX_k For more on the EU's past links with the RSF, see here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/19/what-is-europes-role-in-sudans-refugee-crisis And here: https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/europe-shouldnt-rely-upon-the-rsf-militia-on-immigration/ Here is the report Ben mentions called Border Control from Hell: data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/55954 For more on UK arms sales to Sudan and reports that the RSF is using UK-made weapons, see this October 2025 report by the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/oct/28/uk-military-equipment-rapid-support-forces-rsf-militia-accused-genocide-found-sudan-united-nations And read this response from Amnesty International UK: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/uk-arms-licensing-system-indefensible-british-linked-weapons-used-sudan For more on Mataris Sudan Solidarity Committee, follow them on Intsa: mataris_ssc Follow 50 Out of Many on Instagram, too: 50outofmany Find Louise's court drawings on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/truuuuuuuuuuuuc/ For more The Civil Fleet Podcast episodes on Greece, see episodes 68, 60, 56, 53, 52, 50, 35, 34, 28, 26, 18, 9 and 4 In episode 35, we hear from Hanad Abdi Mohammad, a Somalian (not Ethiopian as Ben said in this episode!) refugee who was sentenced to 142 years behind bars in Greece for supposedly captaining a boat across the Aegean For more on the El Fasher massacre, read this Al Jazeera report: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/29/massacre-in-el-fasher-whats-happening-in-sudan-right-now For more on the Dublin Agreement, check out this explainer video by The Guardian newspaper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ooecJWPcAY&t=28s&ab_channel=TheGuardian For more on Ireland's new family reunification rules, read this report in the Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2025/11/26/what-are-the-new-family-reunification-rules-for-migrant-workers/ Read Amnesty International's condemnation of the Greek government's decision to suspend asylum claims for people from North Africa in July 2025 here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/07/greece-new-asylum-and-return-proposals-flagrantly-breach-international-law-and-punishes-people-seeking-protection/ For more on conditions in Greece's prisons, see this report by the Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/council-of-europe-anti-torture-committee-cpt-returns-to-greece-for-high-level-talks-on-prison-reform And read about their 2019 visit here: https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/greece-reforming-prison-system-and-ending-police-ill-treatment-are-urgent-priorities-says-cpt "The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently," wrote the late, great David Graeber... Of course, Ben totally butchers this at the end of the episode.
