@thecivilfleet
A news blog and podcast focused on the activist-led refugee rescue and support missions across Fortress Europe: civilfleet.com / email: info@civilfleet.com The Civil Fleet Podcast is on all podcast services, and on Youtube: youtube.com/@thecivilfleet
Oh dear! 🤦♀️ Germany is cooperating with Tunisia to deter migration. However, when asked about specific human rights violations in this field, the German government hides behind alleged ignorance, making its answers problematic. 1/6
Ville Maali / SOS MEDITERRANEE
Ville Maali / SOS MEDITERRANEE
Last night, after receiving an alert from @alarmphone.bsky.social we sailed south and found a small rubber boat drifting in the middle of high waves, in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region.
We brought back 36 people to safety on the #OceanViking.
Been listening to the Civil Fleet podcast for ages, so had a great time babbling on about the 'Libyan Coast Guard' and the other random EU migration shenanigans we track at @statewatch.bsky.social . Thanks to Ben for editing me into something resembling coherence...
🚨NEW EPISODE 🎧
Frey Lindsey from @statewatch.bsky.social tells us how the Libyan Coastguard isn’t a unified organisation but a mixture of armed factions.
We also discuss a leaked EU document proposing new ‘place of safety arrangements’ with non-European Mediterranean countries.
[English] 🔴BREAKING: Italian authorities have detained our search and rescue ship Humanity 1 for 60 days and issued a €10,000 fine – after we rescued 33 people from distress at sea. 1/6
🚨 We're hiring a Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator to lead advocacy on Search & Rescue operations around Central Mediterranean migration.
Shape strategy, engage civil society, amplify voices. Italian speakers preferred!
Apply: searchandrescue.msf.org/jobs/humanit...
Revealed: At least 14 people died in Home Office asylum seeker accommodation in first six months of 2025
Human rights organisations question morality and legality of ministry’s policies and ability to care for the vulnerable
thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2026/02/06/a...
🚨 21 people, including a newborn, arrived last night on Farmakonisi. At 09:50 today all phones went offline near the military camp. Many who land here later “disappear,” later found adrift in life rafts. We hope this group was taken to safety, not pushed back.
Yesterday morning, our aircraft spotted a rubber boat in distress and immediately alerted authorities and @sos-humanity.bsky.social rescue vessel Humanity 1. The rescue ship reached the boat in time and safely rescued the people on board.
According to the recent reconstruction by @refugeesinlibya.bsky.social, which is in direct contact with civil society in Libya and Tunisia, the number of people missing during Cyclone Harry is not 380, but over 1,000.
Crew member of SP1 launching RHIB
We're stil open for Crewing in 2026! If you feel ready to join us on rotation or during layover periods in port and become part of a great crew, please apply via our crewing form on our website. Link in Bio.
Credit: Axel Miranda
(Deutsch) Rechte Seite eines Fotos vom Rettungsschiff Humanity 1 im Abendlicht, darauf der englische Text: „Raue See, klarer Fokus: Humanity 1 ist einsatzbereit!“ / (English) Right side of a photograph of the rescue ship Humanity 1 in the evening light, with the following text in English: “Rough waters, clear focus: Humanity 1 is ready to rescue!”
(Deutsch) Foto von Gewitter am Horizont des zentralen Mittelmeers, im Vordergrund eine unscharfe Rettungsweste. Darauf der englische Text: „Beim rauen Wetter verlassen weniger Boote die Küste. Dennoch starben in den letzten Wochen viele hunderte Menschen auf der Flucht über das zentrale Mittelmeer oder verschwanden spurlos.“ / (English) Photo of a thunderstorm on the horizon of the Central Mediterranean, with a blurred life jacket in the foreground. The English text reads: ”Due to the harsh weather, fewer boats are leaving the shore. Still, hundreds of people died or went missing in the attempt to flee across the Central Mediterranean during the last weeks.”
(Deutsch) Rechte Seite eines Fotos von einem Schnellboot im Abendlicht, darauf der englischen Text: „Wir sind im Einsatzgebiet, denn jedes Schiff zählt!“ / (English) Right side of a photograph of a fast rescue boat in the evening light, with the following text in English: “We are in the area of operations, every ship counts!”
No weather to turn away from: the crew of #Humanity1 continues to keep a lookout for boats in distress. Too many people have died in recent weeks – we must do everything we can to prevent further deaths. Even in the current challenging weather conditions, every ship counts!
Wir suchen eine*n Referent*in für Mobilisierung & Events: Koordiniere Freiwillige bundesweit, plane Aktionen & Events und stärke Engagement für Seenotrettung.
Du hast Erfahrung mit ehrenamtlichen Gruppen & teilst unsere humanitären Werte? Bewirb dich: 👉 sos-humanity.org/jobs/#refere...
#jobs
Italy detains civilian refugee rescue ship for refusing to ‘violate international law’
Sea-Watch says its crews ‘do not communicate with Libyan militias that fire on rescue ships and kill people on the move’
thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2026/02/01/i...
Yesterday in #Siracusa, the #OceanViking team disembarked the body of the woman we recovered at sea.
We held a ceremony to honour her.
She is the visible trace of thousands of invisible deaths in the #Mediterranean, where at least 32,342 people have gone missing since 2014.
🚨 Top UN human rights experts have signed a letter to EU institutions denouncing human rights risks in the EU Deportation Regulation.
This is a damning condemnation of a draconian measure that sees and treats migrants as a threat.
✉️ Read the full letter on spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBas...
🧵Alex Pretti was pepper sprayed, beaten and killed with at least ten shots by ICE agents. This is akin to a public execution.
Trump's racist policies and narratives tear families apart, destroy lives. They kill. In Minnesota this month, first Renée Nicole Good, now Alex Pretti.
Stay warm this winter and show your solidarity at the same time: With our HUMANITY FOR ALL fan scarf and beanie in blue or black, you contribute to our rescue work on the Central Mediterranean!
Because: Humanity suits you! 👉 soshumanity.krasserstoff.com
2025 haben wir in vier Einsätzen mehr als 600 Menschen auf der Flucht, die auf dem Mittelmeer in Seenot geraten waren, unterstützt.
Seit Anfang des Jahres ist unser Schiff im Trockendock. Dort werden die kommenden Wochen dringend notwendige Wartungsarbeiten erledigt.
Human trafficker who tortured migrants in Libya was jailed for 20 years in :flag-nl:. Even if justice is served: the EU still funds Libyan militias running these camps. You can’t convict crimes you bankroll. Stop financing abuse and start protecting lives!
🚨 Louise Michel is urgently looking for professional boatbuilders or wood workers for February!! 🚢✨
We’re doing important winter works on the ship and we’re looking for professional boatbuilders or wood workers to join us in Malta for the month of February.
📩 crewing@mvlouisemichel.org
Gerard Canals ha sido declarado inocente en un proceso judicial donde se le acusaba de favorecer la entrada irregular de personas de fuera de UE a Grecia, blanqueamiento de capitales y enriquecimiento ilícito.
Siguen buscando criminalizar la ayuda. Siguen sin encontrar cómo.
Sharepic zum Workshop Stammtischkämpfer:innen
Stammtischkämpfer:innen-Seminar
🗓️ 12.02., 18-20:30 Uhr
📍 umBAUbar (Oldenburg)
🍻 Wer kennt es nicht: Auf der Arbeit, mit der Familie & beim Sport fallen Sprüche, die uns die Sprache verschlagen - später ärgern wir uns. Lerne, Position zu beziehen!
📩 Anmeldung per DM bis 08.02.
⛵ Soli-Eintritt: 10€
A minor stands on board the rescue ship Humanity 1 of SOS Humanity. Only the upper body and hands are visible; the young person holds documents close to their chest. In the background, other rescued people sit together in a covered area. The atmosphere is quiet and tense. The image shows the aftermath of a sea rescue in the Mediterranean. Text on the image reads: “Every minor I spoke to told me about profoundly traumatic experiences. These range from severe forms of sexual violence to torture, child labour, loss of family members and cases of human trafficking.” Below: “Esther, qualified psychologist on Humanity 1”.
Hard to imagine: in 2025, 1 in 4 people rescued by the crew of #Humanity1 was a child. 1 in 5 was travelling alone – without legal guardians. Instead of being in school, they find themselves on one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes, the Central Mediterranean. 1/4
UN experts urge Malta to drop charges against El Hiblu 3 and uphold migrants’ rights
„We condemn these unjustified charges. We are also concerned that Maltese law criminalises as terrorism conduct that is not genuinely terrorist under international law.”
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
The UK's "one in one out" deal knowingly harms survivors of torture and trafficking.
@medicaljustice.org.uk details how all 20 people assessed in detention "had clinical evidence of a history of torture, ill-treatment and/or trafficking, and all 20 had serious mental health conditions" ⤵️
Crew of Sea Punk I raising banners saying FREE MAJA and FREE ALL ANTIFAS
FREE MAJA, FREE ALL ANTIFAS
Wir stehen solidarisch an der Seite aller Menschen, die für ihre antifaschistische Einstellung staatliche Repression erfahren – egal ob in Deutschland, Ungarn oder anderswo! Wer Antifaschismus in einer sich nach rechts drehenden Welt vorlebt und praktiziert, ...
Yesterday, 21 January 2026, the Court of Appeals in Valletta upheld all three terrorism charges against the #ElHiblu3.
The Court corrected a faulty technicality, allowing the charges to stand.
These severe charges should have never been introduced in the first place.
#DropTheCharges
We won! This week, we won our court case against the Italian state. The Civil Court of Agrigento annulled a fine and detention imposed on our ship Aurora in August 2023 for bringing survivors to a safe port. Solidarity wins! ✊
