Communiqué LDH and Utopia 56
The LDH (Human Rights League) and Utopia 56 file a complaint against Fabrice Leggeri, former director of Frontex and now candidate for the National Rally (RN) in the European elections, for complicity in crimes against humanity and torture .
In recent years, the central Mediterranean has become the deadliest migration route in the world, with nearly 16,272 migrants dead or missing between January 2015 and April 2022. Too often, these deaths are neither the result of chance nor of accidents. These are in part crimes committed as part of abuses carried out in a methodical and systematic manner in flagrant violation of maritime law, the Geneva Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights – whether by incessant repression of the Hellenic authorities[1] or the interceptions of boats by the Libyan coast guard. Homicides, intentional violence, deliberate endangerment, obstruction of the arrival of help, non-assistance… These practices constitute crimes against humanity.
However, it turns out that the European border and coast guard agency, known as Frontex, played an essential role in the possibility of the commission of these crimes, since the appointment of Fabrice Leggeri as director. executive. Between January 1, 2015 and April 28, 2022, while Fabrice Leggeri had complete control over Frontex’s decision-making power and was the only one to speak with member states within the agency, he radically and permanently changed its role within the European Union (EU) at the risk of becoming an active accomplice in crimes against humanity and crimes of torture committed by the Libyan and Greek authorities.
Under the leadership of this new director, the agency’s missions were not only developed in a dazzling manner, but also distorted in the worst possible way: from a role of support and support, the agency became is gradually replacing Member States in the management of their borders. To assert the agency’s police role, its director then chose a policy aimed at preventing, whatever the cost – in human lives in particular – the entry of migrants into the the EU.
However, if the EU gave Frontex the role of ensuring the integrated European management of external borders, this mission should not be understood to the detriment of respect for the fundamental rights of people, even less of their lives, as has been the case. been the case. According to several journalistic sources, the participation of Frontex can notably be recorded in nearly 222 dramatic incidents, involving 8,355 people between March 2020 and September 2021, whether by refraining from opposing the authorities concerned when it had a duty to do so, by hiding evidence of these crimes, or sometimes even by providing them with logistical and financial support to carry them outr. Thus, the agency not only refused to issue alerts when it was aware of the distress situation of boats, but it also materially facilitated interceptions of migrant boats by informing the Greek coast guard or even financing, a minima, a property involved in an interception. It also deliberately concealed the seriousness of the incidents and the commission of abuses committed by the Greek coast guard. Finally, it put its aerial surveillance at the service of the interception of boats by the Libyan forces, rather than the rescue of the people on board, while it has long been established that migrants in Libya are victims of murders, human trafficking, physical and sexual violence, arbitrary detention and torture.
Numerous messages and emails indicate that Fabrice Leggeri was aware of these criminal acts, and yet allowed them to continue. He had a duty to stop these practices but he chose to avoid his obligations. In view of his recent declarations aimed at announcing his candidacy at number three on the list for the European elections of the National Rally (RN), it appears that Fabrice Leggeri misused his functions within Frontex to put them at the service of his personal opinions, completely opposed to the missions entrusted to him and to the detriment of the lives of thousands of people. In view of the charges against him, the LDH and Utopia 56 are concerned about the message and the danger that such a candidacy may represent for Europe.
Following the publication of the investigation report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) on April 15, 2022, Fabrice Leggeri was forced to resign.
Consequently, the LDH and Utopia 56 decided to file a civil complaint against Fabrice Leggeri for complicity in crimes against humanity and torture before the Paris judicial court.. Through this action, not only are our organizations asking the courts to prosecute Mr. Leggeri, but they also hope that this will lead to a radical change in practices within the Frontex agency.
1. For the record, “non-refoulement” is a fundamental right enshrined in international law and Community law. It prohibits the return of people to territories where they risk persecution, torture or other ill-treatment.
Paris, April 23, 2024
Download the press release “Fabrice Leggeri, former director of Frontex, prosecuted for complicity in crimes against humanity and torture” in PDF format