Luděk Stavinoha
@stavinoha.bsky.social
Associate Prof in Media and Global Development @ University of East Anglia
Researching borders & camps | resistance & solidarity | transparency, #FOI & public spheres
Researching borders & camps | resistance & solidarity | transparency, #FOI & public spheres
Pinned
Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with Europol
Under the banner of fighting migrant smuggling, Frontex has collected, and unlawfully siphoned to Europol, personal data for years—quietly drawing thousands of migrants, as well as EU citizens aiding ...
wearesolomon.com
For years, human rights advocates have warned of the criminalisation of migrants & activists at Europe’s borders.
With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet.
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet.
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
On 24th October, we are launching a new #Index on International Media Freedom Support (IMFS) - which evaluates and ranks countries based on their support for #mediafreedom globally.
It highlights well performing states in #diplomacy #funding + #safety + some concerning trends
lnkd.in/e_gC_Q-m
It highlights well performing states in #diplomacy #funding + #safety + some concerning trends
lnkd.in/e_gC_Q-m
October 17, 2025 at 9:57 AM
On 24th October, we are launching a new #Index on International Media Freedom Support (IMFS) - which evaluates and ranks countries based on their support for #mediafreedom globally.
It highlights well performing states in #diplomacy #funding + #safety + some concerning trends
lnkd.in/e_gC_Q-m
It highlights well performing states in #diplomacy #funding + #safety + some concerning trends
lnkd.in/e_gC_Q-m
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
#Frontex published 138 page document for "European Border Surveillance Reference Architecture". It investigates police and military technologies for their use in border surveillance.
Dystopic!
prd.frontex.europa.eu/wp-content/t...
Dystopic!
prd.frontex.europa.eu/wp-content/t...
October 14, 2025 at 3:06 PM
#Frontex published 138 page document for "European Border Surveillance Reference Architecture". It investigates police and military technologies for their use in border surveillance.
Dystopic!
prd.frontex.europa.eu/wp-content/t...
Dystopic!
prd.frontex.europa.eu/wp-content/t...
I'm not sure what's more abhorrent. The glee on the faces of these genocidal monsters. Or the sycophants from Europe and beyond who wash their crimes clean with sickly praise and adulation.
US President Donald Trump told Israel’s parliament that PM Benjamin Netanyahu had often asked him for weapons during the Gaza war, including “some I’d never heard of.”
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
October 14, 2025 at 9:50 AM
I'm not sure what's more abhorrent. The glee on the faces of these genocidal monsters. Or the sycophants from Europe and beyond who wash their crimes clean with sickly praise and adulation.
Reminder: Europol refuses to delete personal data of thousands of people-including humanitarian activists-unlawfully transferred by Frontex for almost a decade.
Reminder: Human smugglers profit from people’s desperation for safety and from the absence of safe migration routes.
EU advocates for stronger role for Europol to tackle migrant smuggling
A provisional agreement has been reached by the European Council and European Parliament to strengthen Europol. The move is intended to allow the EU’s policing agency to support member states in their...
www.infomigrants.net
September 30, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reminder: Europol refuses to delete personal data of thousands of people-including humanitarian activists-unlawfully transferred by Frontex for almost a decade.
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
Despite the stories of mass arrests, most “smugglers” jailed in Greece are asylum-seekers who were coerced into driving boats.
Fast-track trials and flawed evidence raise serious concerns about justice. #EMIF @voxeurop.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/f...
Fast-track trials and flawed evidence raise serious concerns about justice. #EMIF @voxeurop.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/f...
Greece’s smuggling crackdown: are refugees carrying the can?
Despite the stories of mass arrests, most “smugglers” jailed in Greece are asylum-seekers who were coerced into driving boats.
wearesolomon.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Despite the stories of mass arrests, most “smugglers” jailed in Greece are asylum-seekers who were coerced into driving boats.
Fast-track trials and flawed evidence raise serious concerns about justice. #EMIF @voxeurop.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/f...
Fast-track trials and flawed evidence raise serious concerns about justice. #EMIF @voxeurop.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/f...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
NEW: French police have caused the deaths of dozens of people by intercepting small boats at sea
These violent tactics are deployed now off the French overseas island of Mayotte
Under pressure from the UK, France now plans to start intercepting boats in the Channel
This is where that could lead ⬇️
These violent tactics are deployed now off the French overseas island of Mayotte
Under pressure from the UK, France now plans to start intercepting boats in the Channel
This is where that could lead ⬇️
REVEALED: French police have caused dozens of drownings by violently intercepting small boats trying to reach overseas territory Mayotte.
Similar tactics are being proposed for the Channel, to try to stop people from reaching the UK.
Similar tactics are being proposed for the Channel, to try to stop people from reaching the UK.
September 16, 2025 at 8:03 AM
NEW: French police have caused the deaths of dozens of people by intercepting small boats at sea
These violent tactics are deployed now off the French overseas island of Mayotte
Under pressure from the UK, France now plans to start intercepting boats in the Channel
This is where that could lead ⬇️
These violent tactics are deployed now off the French overseas island of Mayotte
Under pressure from the UK, France now plans to start intercepting boats in the Channel
This is where that could lead ⬇️
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
Frontex doesn't like to hear its 'voluntary' interviews of people arriving at Europe's shores being described as covert 'interrogations'. Why? Because it has no legal mandate to interrogate and criminalise migrants.
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Enfrentamiento entre España y Frontex: dudas sobre el uso de los datos que se obtienen de los migrantes
Documentos internos a los que ha tenido acceso EL PAÍS revelan tensiones entre la agencia de la UE y las autoridades españolas por las entrevistas a los recién llegados
elpais.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Frontex doesn't like to hear its 'voluntary' interviews of people arriving at Europe's shores being described as covert 'interrogations'. Why? Because it has no legal mandate to interrogate and criminalise migrants.
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
Παρά την ποινική δίωξη εις βάρος τους, το σύνολο των λιμενικών που εμπλέκονται στο ναυάγιο της Πύλου παραμένουν σε ενεργό υπηρεσία.
Ο κυβερνήτης του ΠΠΛΣ-920 έχει προαχθεί.
@giorgoschristides.bsky.social @supergalactica.bsky.social @wearesolomon.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/el/mag/forma...
Ο κυβερνήτης του ΠΠΛΣ-920 έχει προαχθεί.
@giorgoschristides.bsky.social @supergalactica.bsky.social @wearesolomon.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/el/mag/forma...
«Ενεργήσαμε βάσει εντολών» - Τι υποστηρίζουν οι Λιμενικοί της Πύλου στο Solomon
Το Solomon συνάντησε τον δικηγόρο των Λιμενικών του πληρώματος του ΠΠΛΣ-920 που κατηγορούνται για την πρόκληση του πολύνεκρου ναυαγίου της Πύλου. Παρουσιάζουμε τους ισχυρισμούς τους, αλλά και το αναλυ...
wearesolomon.com
September 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Παρά την ποινική δίωξη εις βάρος τους, το σύνολο των λιμενικών που εμπλέκονται στο ναυάγιο της Πύλου παραμένουν σε ενεργό υπηρεσία.
Ο κυβερνήτης του ΠΠΛΣ-920 έχει προαχθεί.
@giorgoschristides.bsky.social @supergalactica.bsky.social @wearesolomon.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/el/mag/forma...
Ο κυβερνήτης του ΠΠΛΣ-920 έχει προαχθεί.
@giorgoschristides.bsky.social @supergalactica.bsky.social @wearesolomon.bsky.social
wearesolomon.com/el/mag/forma...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
Frontex’s budget stands at €1 billion.
Yet it demands €7,680 in legal fees from a refugee who endured seven pushbacks and dared to fight back.
The EU’s legal system is designed to deter, not protect.
👉 www.publico.es/sociedad/mig...
Yet it demands €7,680 in legal fees from a refugee who endured seven pushbacks and dared to fight back.
The EU’s legal system is designed to deter, not protect.
👉 www.publico.es/sociedad/mig...
September 9, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Frontex’s budget stands at €1 billion.
Yet it demands €7,680 in legal fees from a refugee who endured seven pushbacks and dared to fight back.
The EU’s legal system is designed to deter, not protect.
👉 www.publico.es/sociedad/mig...
Yet it demands €7,680 in legal fees from a refugee who endured seven pushbacks and dared to fight back.
The EU’s legal system is designed to deter, not protect.
👉 www.publico.es/sociedad/mig...
Frontex doesn't like to hear its 'voluntary' interviews of people arriving at Europe's shores being described as covert 'interrogations'. Why? Because it has no legal mandate to interrogate and criminalise migrants.
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Enfrentamiento entre España y Frontex: dudas sobre el uso de los datos que se obtienen de los migrantes
Documentos internos a los que ha tenido acceso EL PAÍS revelan tensiones entre la agencia de la UE y las autoridades españolas por las entrevistas a los recién llegados
elpais.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Frontex doesn't like to hear its 'voluntary' interviews of people arriving at Europe's shores being described as covert 'interrogations'. Why? Because it has no legal mandate to interrogate and criminalise migrants.
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
Frontex and Spanish police claim they do not covertly interrogate newly arrived migrants.
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Enfrentamiento entre España y Frontex: dudas sobre el uso de los datos que se obtienen de los migrantes
Documentos internos a los que ha tenido acceso EL PAÍS revelan tensiones entre la agencia de la UE y las autoridades españolas por las entrevistas a los recién llegados
elpais.com
September 8, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Frontex and Spanish police claim they do not covertly interrogate newly arrived migrants.
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Frontex and Spanish police claim they do not covertly interrogate newly arrived migrants.
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Enfrentamiento entre España y Frontex: dudas sobre el uso de los datos que se obtienen de los migrantes
Documentos internos a los que ha tenido acceso EL PAÍS revelan tensiones entre la agencia de la UE y las autoridades españolas por las entrevistas a los recién llegados
elpais.com
September 8, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Frontex and Spanish police claim they do not covertly interrogate newly arrived migrants.
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
But evidence we obtained suggests otherwise, casting serious doubts about compliance with EU data protection rules and the alleged voluntary nature of 'debriefing' interviews.
elpais.com/espana/2025-...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
🇨🇿#CzechRepublic: In an important show of international solidarity, 262 Czech journalists from 66 newsrooms, including 23 editors-in-chief & some of the biggest names in Czech journalism, have called on Czech President & PM to support journalists in #Gaza.
buff.ly/fFhLQmZ
buff.ly/fFhLQmZ
262 Czech journalists call on Czech Authorities to help their colleagues in Gaza
The open letter is a translation of a call published by 15 international press freedom groups in early August. The number of signatures is unprecedented in Czech journalism. Almost all major Czech…
denikreferendum.cz
August 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM
🇨🇿#CzechRepublic: In an important show of international solidarity, 262 Czech journalists from 66 newsrooms, including 23 editors-in-chief & some of the biggest names in Czech journalism, have called on Czech President & PM to support journalists in #Gaza.
buff.ly/fFhLQmZ
buff.ly/fFhLQmZ
"To generate knowledge in the context of hunger is to think through pain. To teach students who have not eaten and still tell them their voices matter. To insist, against all odds, that Gaza still thinks, still questions, still creates.
That, in itself, is an act of resistance."
That, in itself, is an act of resistance."
“In Gaza, to be an academic today is to refuse to be reduced to a statistic.” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Too hungry to think, too weak to sit upright. Concentration slips away’: the struggle to stay focused as an academic in Gaza
It is hard to keep the mind sharp when the body is thin and dehydrated, but solidarity is teaching starving students their thoughts still matter
www.theguardian.com
August 19, 2025 at 7:42 PM
"To generate knowledge in the context of hunger is to think through pain. To teach students who have not eaten and still tell them their voices matter. To insist, against all odds, that Gaza still thinks, still questions, still creates.
That, in itself, is an act of resistance."
That, in itself, is an act of resistance."
"Do not forget me, Sara Awad, a Palestinian student, whose biggest dream is to finish her degree in English literature and become a professional journalist...
Do not forget how fiercely we resisted and held on to our homes and land, even when the world all but abandoned us."
aje.io/ymvlk3
Do not forget how fiercely we resisted and held on to our homes and land, even when the world all but abandoned us."
aje.io/ymvlk3
In Gaza City, we are saying goodbye
Forced expulsion is looming and we know this time we may never see our homes again.
aje.io
August 19, 2025 at 6:13 PM
"Do not forget me, Sara Awad, a Palestinian student, whose biggest dream is to finish her degree in English literature and become a professional journalist...
Do not forget how fiercely we resisted and held on to our homes and land, even when the world all but abandoned us."
aje.io/ymvlk3
Do not forget how fiercely we resisted and held on to our homes and land, even when the world all but abandoned us."
aje.io/ymvlk3
"What hits you first is the exhaustion carved into every face. The sickly pallor. The terrifying weight loss ravaging everyone, yes, including me."
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
I’m a Teenager In Gaza. And I Am Starving.
What hits you first is the exhaustion carved into every face. The sickly pallor. The terrifying weight loss ravaging everyone—yes, including me.
www.thenation.com
August 14, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"What hits you first is the exhaustion carved into every face. The sickly pallor. The terrifying weight loss ravaging everyone, yes, including me."
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
For years, human rights advocates have warned of the criminalisation of migrants & activists at Europe’s borders.
With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet.
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet.
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with Europol
Under the banner of fighting migrant smuggling, Frontex has collected, and unlawfully siphoned to Europol, personal data for years—quietly drawing thousands of migrants, as well as EU citizens aiding ...
wearesolomon.com
July 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM
For years, human rights advocates have warned of the criminalisation of migrants & activists at Europe’s borders.
With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet.
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet.
wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
More evidence of Europol's apparent disregard for legal norms and boundaries - this time from Lesvos, where its officers appear to be behaving like secret intelligence agents, misusing Frontex activities to interrogate migrants.
July 28, 2025 at 4:01 PM
More evidence of Europol's apparent disregard for legal norms and boundaries - this time from Lesvos, where its officers appear to be behaving like secret intelligence agents, misusing Frontex activities to interrogate migrants.
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
Read this passage, please, about trying to provide therapy for trauma in Gaza, even though it should make you feel like you are stabbing needles into your eyes.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
August 2, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Read this passage, please, about trying to provide therapy for trauma in Gaza, even though it should make you feel like you are stabbing needles into your eyes.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
An open letter has been launched today (27/7/25) for members of the UK academic community (academics and other university staff) to sign, to press the UK Home Office to facilitate safe passage out of Gaza for 40+ students with offers for UK universities.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Open letter from UK university staff: Request for biometric deferral and safe evacuation of incoming Palestinian students and scholars from Gaza to UK Universities
More than 40 students currently trapped in Gaza with full scholarships to UK Universities are asking for a safe route to come and study. We, the academic community hoping to welcome these scholars, ca...
docs.google.com
July 27, 2025 at 9:48 PM
An open letter has been launched today (27/7/25) for members of the UK academic community (academics and other university staff) to sign, to press the UK Home Office to facilitate safe passage out of Gaza for 40+ students with offers for UK universities.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
More evidence of Europol's apparent disregard for legal norms and boundaries - this time from Lesvos, where its officers appear to be behaving like secret intelligence agents, misusing Frontex activities to interrogate migrants.
July 28, 2025 at 4:01 PM
More evidence of Europol's apparent disregard for legal norms and boundaries - this time from Lesvos, where its officers appear to be behaving like secret intelligence agents, misusing Frontex activities to interrogate migrants.
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
You would think Frontex would be a bit more reticent about celebrating a collaboration based on violent pushbacks, beatings, and degrading treatment of migrants - as documented by its own Fundamental Rights Officer in more than 25 Serious Incident Reports since 2023.
🇷🇸🤝🇪🇺 For the past four years, Serbia and Frontex have worked side by side setting a strong example of a cross-border collaboration.
The results speak for themselves - the irregular border crossings in the Western Balkans fell by 20% in the first half of 2025.
Hvala ti, Srbijo! 🇷🇸💙
The results speak for themselves - the irregular border crossings in the Western Balkans fell by 20% in the first half of 2025.
Hvala ti, Srbijo! 🇷🇸💙
July 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
You would think Frontex would be a bit more reticent about celebrating a collaboration based on violent pushbacks, beatings, and degrading treatment of migrants - as documented by its own Fundamental Rights Officer in more than 25 Serious Incident Reports since 2023.
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
🚨 New investigation co-authored by our colleague @stavinoha.bsky.social: EU agencies #Frontex & #Europol unlawfully shared data, sweeping up migrants and #HumanRights defenders.
Published in @elpais.com, @lemonde.fr, Solomon, @netzpolitik.org
Read more: english.elpais.com/internationa...
Published in @elpais.com, @lemonde.fr, Solomon, @netzpolitik.org
Read more: english.elpais.com/internationa...
For years, the EU’s border agency unlawfully transferred data on migrants and activists to Europol
An investigation by several media outlets, including EL PAÍS, reveals that Frontex provided the European police agency with indiscriminate information on thousands of people, gathered from covert inte...
english.elpais.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
🚨 New investigation co-authored by our colleague @stavinoha.bsky.social: EU agencies #Frontex & #Europol unlawfully shared data, sweeping up migrants and #HumanRights defenders.
Published in @elpais.com, @lemonde.fr, Solomon, @netzpolitik.org
Read more: english.elpais.com/internationa...
Published in @elpais.com, @lemonde.fr, Solomon, @netzpolitik.org
Read more: english.elpais.com/internationa...
You would think Frontex would be a bit more reticent about celebrating a collaboration based on violent pushbacks, beatings, and degrading treatment of migrants - as documented by its own Fundamental Rights Officer in more than 25 Serious Incident Reports since 2023.
🇷🇸🤝🇪🇺 For the past four years, Serbia and Frontex have worked side by side setting a strong example of a cross-border collaboration.
The results speak for themselves - the irregular border crossings in the Western Balkans fell by 20% in the first half of 2025.
Hvala ti, Srbijo! 🇷🇸💙
The results speak for themselves - the irregular border crossings in the Western Balkans fell by 20% in the first half of 2025.
Hvala ti, Srbijo! 🇷🇸💙
July 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
You would think Frontex would be a bit more reticent about celebrating a collaboration based on violent pushbacks, beatings, and degrading treatment of migrants - as documented by its own Fundamental Rights Officer in more than 25 Serious Incident Reports since 2023.
Reposted by Luděk Stavinoha
41 MEPs call upon the European Commission to initiate an independent inquiry into large-scale unlawful transfers of personal data between @frontex.bsky.social and @europol.europa.eu following our investigation for El Pais, Le Monde, Solomon, and Netzpolitik.
July 11, 2025 at 1:28 PM
41 MEPs call upon the European Commission to initiate an independent inquiry into large-scale unlawful transfers of personal data between @frontex.bsky.social and @europol.europa.eu following our investigation for El Pais, Le Monde, Solomon, and Netzpolitik.