Court cases, screenings, an in memoriam, publications, news around From Compassion to Crime and the wider investigation.
From the acquittal on Lesbos to the death of Pieter Wittenberg and the arrest of Tommy Olsen, here I keep track of what is happening.
Tommy Olsen, founder of Aegean Boat Report and a central figure in From Compassion to Crime, has been released following his arrest on the basis of an Interpol alert. The extradition procedure is still ongoing.
Nearly two months after his acquittal, Pieter Wittenberg passed away. I followed him for a long time for this documentary, and his story became one of the pillars of the film. Calm, humorous, steadfast, he never stopped believing that helping people in need was simply the right thing to do.
After almost eight years of legal uncertainty, the court in Mytilini acquitted all 24 defendants in the case against ERCI. There was no evidence of people smuggling, espionage or criminal collaboration.
Panel discussion with Henk van Houtum (professor of border studies) and Marjon Rozema (Amnesty International) on the criminalisation of solidarity, prompted by the documentary.
Public premiere in Utrecht, followed by a conversation with the audience about the criminalisation of humanitarian aid at Europe's borders.
STIL Utrecht writes about the prosecution of Tommy Olsen and the documentary in which I follow him and two others being prosecuted in Greece.