An international consortium of lawyers has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against 122 individuals, including high-profile European political figures, for alleged crimes against humanity related to the European Union's (EU) migration policies. Among those denounced are Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Matteo Salvini, Donald Tusk, and several Spanish politicians such as Mariano Rajoy and Margarita Robles. The accusations focus on the involvement of these figures in the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean and in the human rights violations suffered by migrants in detention centers in Libya. The 700-page report, prepared after six years of investigation by lawyers Juan Branco and Omer Shatz, highlights evidence regarding the design and implementation of community policies between 2014 and 2020.
The investigation is based on testimonies from 77 witnesses, analysis of internal documents and leaks, showing reasonable indications of guilt. According to the report, these migration policies, which replaced rescue operations with deterrence strategies, have resulted in more than 30,000 deaths in the Mediterranean since 2014, and in the detention and mistreatment of thousands in Libya. The filing of this complaint follows a prior attempt in 2019, which was accepted for investigation but produced no concrete results against the European citizens involved, something the lawyers attribute to the relationship between the ICC and the EU. The lawyers seek that the ICC conduct a thorough investigation and ensure accountability for those responsible.
Read the full news article on The Country.
