Mare Liberum is a Berlin-based human rights organisation founded in 2018.[1] Since then, Mare Liberum e.V. has been monitoring human rights in the Aegean Sea, which is part of an escape route from Turkey to the Greek islands, on which part there are frequent drownings.[2][3] The organisation runs two ships, the Mare Liberum which operates under the German flag, and the sailing yacht, Sebastian K.

On 1 May 2023, Mare Liberum was dissolved and ceased operations citing "sabotage, obstruction, and, repression" from the conservative government of Greece and a current impossibility to continue its role safely in observing the border authorities.[4][5]

Monitoring refugee events

The Mare Liberum association was able to document a total of 321 incidents between March and December 2020, in which 9,798 refugees were forcibly driven back to Turkey. The Greek coast guard would have been the main protagonist and, according to survivors, Frontex and NATO were also involved in some cases.[6]

Vessels

In 2018 the Mare Liberum e.V. association acquired the ship Sea-Watch, which was renamed Mare Liberum.[7] Since then, the ship has been carrying out human rights monitoring at sea.

In 2020, Mare Liberum e.V. additionally acquired the 14.5m Beneteau sailing yacht, Sebastian K for further human rights monitoring.[8][9]

The Mare Liberum was detained in port in 2019 because the German Ministry of Transport (BMVI) had changed the Ship Safety Ordinance and NGO ships that are used for humanitarian or similar purposes are now confronted with requirements in terms of construction, equipment and crew that otherwise only commercial shipping must meet. So there was a request for a corresponding ship safety certificate from Mare Liberum for Mare Liberum.[10][11]

At the beginning of September 2020, the Mare Liberum was searched by Greek border guards in Perama on Lesbos. The activists themselves complained about the "criminalization of human rights work" by the Greek authorities. On September 28, the Greek police announced in a press release that 35 people and four NGOs were being investigated on Lesbos. Mare Liberum e.V. was not officially named, however.[12] On October 2, 2020, the Hamburg Administrative Court declared the Ministry's detention order inadmissible because the Ministry of Transport had failed to inform the EU Commission of the draft of the amended regulation before it was enacted.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Mare Liberum govolunteer.com, accessed 16 June 2021
  2. ↑ "Advocate Europe | Mare Liberum - monitoring democracy by boat". advocate-europe.eu. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  3. ↑ Mare Liberum: human rights monitoring at peril in the Aegean SAROBMED sarobmed.org, accessed 16 June 2021
  4. ↑ It Cannot Go On Like This! Statement of the Dissolution of Mare Liberum mare-liberum.org, accessed 18 May 2023
  5. ↑ Mare Liberum hat sich aufgelöst (tr. "Human rights association gives up: Mare Liberum has dissolved") 2 May 2023 taz.de accessed 19 May 2023
  6. ↑ Menschenrechtler beklagen Übergriffe gegen Migranten in der Ägäis. (tr. "Human rights activists complain of attacks against migrants in the Aegean Sea.") 11 February 2021, Deutsche Welle, accessed 30 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Erik Peter (2018-08-22). "Fischkutter gegen das Sterben" [Fishing boat against dying]. taz. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  8. ↑ The Sebastian K mare-liberum.org, accessed 14 June 2021
  9. ↑ 'We are going to sail': Activists ready to defy German law designed to stop them 14 August 2020 morningstaronline.co.uk, accessed 17 June 2021
  10. ↑ The human rights monitoring ship #Mare_Liberum is being prevented from leaving port Press release 29 April 2019 seenthis.net, accessed 16 June 2021
  11. ↑ "2019 update - NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and criminal investigations". European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  12. ↑ Pressemitteilung Mare Liberum (Press release): Geflüchtete zurückdrängen, Zeugen vertreiben. (tr. "Push back refugees, drive out witnesses") 6 October 2020 mare-liberum.org, accessed 18 June 2021
  13. ↑ Verwaltungsgericht Hamburg: Eilantrag des Vereins Mare Liberum gegen Festhalteverfügungen für zwei im Mittelmeer eingesetzte Schiffe erfolgreich. (tr. "Administrative court Hamburg: Urgent application of the Mare Liberum association against detention orders for two ships deployed in the Mediterranean successful") 2 October 2020 justiz.hamburg.de (Pressemitteilung/ Press release, Press office of the administrative courts, Hamburg Higher Administrative Court).
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