Statewatch

@statewatch.bsky.social

We are activists, researchers, lawyers and journalists exposing state power across Europe and its borders. Our work has supported debates, movements and campaigns since 1991. Access our latest articles: https://linktr.ee/statewatch

1/ A recent academic project, Probable Futures, mapped 70 uses of AI in the criminal justice system. These range from emergency call handling and evidence assessment to crime ‘prediction’ and automated analysis of video footage.

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1/ The border has not disappeared—it has been transformed. Politicians talk about the need for "legal migration pathways" (while at the same time pushing deportations) and development agencies and private consultancies apparently have the answer: Circular Labour Mobility Schemes.

Public institutions in the EU hold hundreds of contracts with Israeli companies worth almost €2.7 billion. Trade sanctions or boycotts could have a profound impact on Israel’s economy and its ability to wage war. Yet, the EU has taken no meaningful action.

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Just leaked: New agreement between EU naval mission and Libya’s eastern forces (link below) We've obtained and published a ‘technical arrangement’ between the EU’s naval mission Operation Irini and the ‘eastern forces’ of Libya under General Khalifa Haftar. Read and share: buff.ly/A7Q2sdj

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Just leaked: We've obtained one of the latest working documents of the deportation regulation (a.k.a. "returns regulation”), by the EU Parliament, the EU Council, and the EU Commission. From what we can tell so far, no improvements have been made, despite relentless campaigning.

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🔴 SHOTS FIRED Our Sea-Watch 5 is being shot at by the EU-funded so-called Libyan coastguard. Our crew just finished rescuing 90 people, but Libyan militias are still following us. They expressed the intent to abduct us to Libya!

The UK Labour Party came to power in July 2024 promising change and an end to 14 years of the right-wing rule seen under the Tories. Instead, it has since entrenched some of the Tories’ worst overreaches—and added some more of its own. Read more and view the timeline here: buff.ly/bwvxM5p

UK prime minister Keir Starmer looms behind a timeline mapping the steady decline of rights under his party since 2024. The pictured examples include the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group, sweeping reforms to policing to increase use of biometrics analysis and AI, and the recent arrest of Qesser Zuhrah, the youngest of the Filton 24. The full timeline can be found at the link. Bild

1/ The 15th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now. This month's bulletin includes a document that is almost laughably horrific. In it, the Council Presidency implores the EU’s main border externalisation committee to *mention* human rights more when dealing with non-EU partner countries.

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🚨🎧🛟 New episode coming soon! 🌊🎧🚨 Keep an eye on your podcast/YouTube feeds for episode 87! In the meantime, be sure to check out our last episode with Frey Lindsey from @statewatch.bsky.social 👇🎧 Solidarity ✊

The Civil Fleet@thecivilfleet.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🚨NEW EPISODE 🎧 Frey Lindsey from @statewatch.bsky.social tells us how the Libyan Coastguard isn’t a unified organisation but a mixture of armed factions.  
We also discuss a leaked EU document proposing new ‘place of safety arrangements’ with non-European Mediterranean countries.

For the future of Frontex the Council of Europe discussed deployments in Ukraine, drone defense duties, self-deportations and much more. We have a much better suggestion: #AbolishFrontex Read the latest bulletin by Statewatch about the EU's internal discussion on border politics 👇

Statewatch@statewatch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The 14th issue of the #ExternalisationBulletin is out now. This month’s bulletin contains details about the EU's newest plan for 'degressive’ reintegration support, other means of ‘incentivising’ self-deportations, and twenty newly-obtained Council documents. Find the issue here: buff.ly/dmMS8AK

Register now for the upcoming event, AI in the Field of Asylum and Immigration Law, to hear more from Statewatch researcher Romain Lanneau. Host: ERA Academy of European Law Dates: 9-10 March 2026 Location: Online More details and registration info: buff.ly/Tjoqhkx

Quote from Romain Lanneau, "Technologies are becoming ever-present in the asylum and immigration system. Often, law enforcement and immigration authorities experiment with unreliable systems at the cost of migrants’ rights. Understanding what technologies are used and what redress are available is becoming indispensable." Information about the event appears in a text box below the quote.

We've just published a document that details the EU's disturbing plans to expand cross-border travel surveillance. The changes include using travel data for new purposes, such as immigration control, and bypassing important safeguards. Read more: buff.ly/N8iffJW

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UK: A recent court case has exposed Nick Gratwick as a private spy hired by UK police. The Undercover Research Group (URG) has been investigating Nick for many years, and now their new report details his activities throughout the late 1990s - early 2000s. Read it here: buff.ly/kVFwYza

Spray-painted words "Caution! Spies operate in this area" are overlaid in a risograph style with a green microphone. Below this, text explaining the news is placed next to another spray-painted image depicting a person in a suit with a television for a head.

As state powers of repression are globalised, so too must our resistance, advocacy and collaboration. We released our research, Networks of [in]security (NOIS), as a living resource to help us do that. Read more and get in contact: buff.ly/MbWx0na

Quote from State watch Director, Chris Jones, that reads: 
"The power of states to surveil, monitor, harass and repress is being globalised.
This is being done through digital infrastructures by obscure, secretive and technocratic organisations. Meanwhile, people's rights remain trapped by national borders, making it extremely difficult to seek redress and remedy for wrongdoing, or even simple errors."

1/ Governments are increasingly engaging in transnational repression: reaching across borders to silence dissent from afar. This can include assassinations, illegal deportations, abductions, digital threats, Interpol abuse, and family intimidation.

A visual overview of the caption text, showing a collage of images: a speaker wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh with a "police do not cross" sign behind, both in front of a tall fence, and a security camera with an eye pasted over the lens above two people holding placards about Palestine.Bild

According Info Park, an organisation in Belgrade, Serbia, people on the move along the Western Balkan route face a cycle of of detention, transfers, and endless reattempts. The EU's new pact on migration will only worsen these brutal realities.

Above a black print of a barbed fence, a demonstrator holds a placard that says "open the border". Above the image, text reads: the EU migration pact will increase existing harms in Serbia and all along the Western Balkan route. It will mean more cruel tactics of policing and pushbacks, more bureaucracy and digital controls,  and a further closure of civic space."