13 are missing off Tunisia as 5 are arrested on the Ceuta route
A capsizing off Tunisia and trafficking arrests in Ceuta exposed the danger of sea routes, while a British ruling raised the bar for returning trafficking victims.
Geopolitics··Midday
Thirteen people went missing on a boat from Tunisia to Italy
Mostafa Abdelkebir, who heads the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, said a boat that left for Italy early on Thursday capsized off Tunisia and left at least 13 people missing. Of the 2 people rescued, one was critically ill; the other said he had drifted at sea for hours. Al Jazeera reported that attempted crossings from Tunisia have declined over the past two years under tighter maritime controls and EU-backed measures. The International Organization for Migration records more than 35,000 people missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.[1]
The Ceuta investigation focuses on boat trips without life jackets
Spain's interior ministry said 5 people had been arrested on suspicion of carrying migrants in small boats from Ceuta across the Strait of Gibraltar to the mainland. The investigation reported by Deutsche Welle says passengers were charged as much as 9,000 euros. Four of those arrested are accused of belonging to a network that kept people in houses or garages before departure. On one trip, 7 people spent 5 hours in a small boat without life jackets; the boat then drifted after running out of fuel.[2]
A British ruling set new return guidance for male victims
The upper chamber of Britain's immigration tribunal accepted the asylum claim of a 21-year-old Albanian trafficking victim. Three senior judges found that, 5 years after he was first trafficked, he still faced a real threat from the network that exploited him and could not relocate safely inside Albania. The ruling reported by The Guardian created new country guidance that the Home Office must consider before returning male victims. The tribunal noted that Albania has no shelters dedicated to adult male victims and that the risk of being trafficked again remains significant.[3]
