On 16 March, #MehmetTürkmen, president of #BiRTEK-SEN (United Union of Textile and Leather Workers), was arrested in #Turkey. His freedom has been violated, and the right to unionise has been infringed upon. We call for his immediate release and for the unconditional dismissal of all charges.
„No one should be punished for seeking protection“ writes @amnesty.org
Seven years ago, right now, the oil tanker #ElHiblu1 was underway to #Malta. On board, 100 survivors who had escaped from Libya on a rubber boat the night before.
Today, three of those - the #ElHiblu3 - still face charges.
A new report from Travis Van Isacker and Michel Stanislas at @borderforensics.bsky.social shows that UK govt 'stop the boats' policy has led to an increase in deaths.
The Independent reports on it today: bit.ly/41wdqJ6
A new report by Travis Van Isacker @borderforensics.bsky.social found that deaths in the Channel rose after a major UK-France deal to 'stop the boats' ⤵️
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Our work is dedicated to all those who have lost their life at the UK’s border, and those who they left behind. Towards freedom of movement for all.
We publish as the French and UK governments finalise their next deal to police illegalised migration for 2026-29. While they debate how many millions more to spend and what dangerous new tactics to use to try and ‘Stop the Boats’, we show the failure and human cost of their policies.
Read also 👉
Combining geospatial analysis, coastguard records, activist datasets, flight tracking, and interviews with affected people and solidarity structures, the investigation reconstructs how policy decisions reshape crossing conditions – and how border violence becomes measurable across space and time.
Our research found that the increased numbers of deaths in the Channel took place close to the French shore as a result of new mechanisms: extreme overcrowding and chaotic launches. We linked these trends to increased border policing, aerial surveillance, and supply chain disruption.
From 2019 to 2023, there were 68 dead and missing from 21 fatal incidents in the Channel. Between August 2023 and January 2026, 129 people died or went missing in 48 incidents. At the same time the numbers of boats and people crossing fell.
See @hollybancroft.bsky.social's article here 👉
Today, Border Forensics together with @sociodigfutures.bsky.social releases the new investigation 'How ‘stopping the boats’ kills'! The report shows that the #UK's "stop the boats" policy has in fact led to an increase in deaths. Find full report here 👉 www.borderforensics.org/investigatio...
Combining geospatial analysis, coastguard records, activist datasets, flight tracking, and interviews with affected people and solidarity structures, the investigation reconstructs how policy decisions reshape crossing conditions – and how border violence becomes measurable across space and time.
More fatalities were recorded close to the French shore as a result of new mechanisms implemented after a major UK-France deal: extreme overcrowding and chaotic launches became more frequent.
We linked these trends to increased border policing.
From 2019 to 2023, there were 68 dead and missing from 21 fatal incidents. Between August 2023 and January 2026, 129 people died or went missing across 48 incidents.
How is it that from Summer 2023 there has been a sharp rise in the numbers of deaths?
See @the-independent.com article
UN experts urge Malta to drop charges against El Hiblu 3 and uphold migrants’ rights
„We condemn these unjustified charges. We are also concerned that Maltese law criminalises as terrorism conduct that is not genuinely terrorist under international law.”
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
Aktivist:innen von Border Forensics @borderforensics.bsky.social und dem erzählen über die staatliche Gewalt im europäischen Grenzregime.
Workshop am #AnderenDavos 26: Kontinuitäten staatlicher Gewalt im europäischen Grenzregime
Mit Aktivist:innen von Border Forensics @borderforensics.bsky.social aus Genf und dem NoMore Committe aus Basel.
17.01.26, 14:30 im Volkshaus ZH
Infos: sozialismus.ch/ad26
A talk by Charles Heller from @borderforensics.bsky.social on border forensics and documenting border violence at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Sitting here with the core team of Researchers on the Border, urgently important discussions! Follow their work @badaczkinagranicy.bsky.social
Starting in 30 minutes! A lecture by lead researcher #CristinaDelBiaggio about 'The Death of Blessing Matthew' as part of the series “Avenue centrale. Rendez-vous en sciences humaines” (season 12).
Watch now or later here 👉
www.youtube.com/live/MHPd-br...
Coming Saturday, 17:00h.
Join us at #BuildPeace2025 in Barcelona.
Our digital cartographer #JackIsles will speak about 'How we use geospacial technology to advocate against surveillance and control'.
Find here the full programme: www.icip.cat/wp-content/u...
Tomorrow, 7pm, La Chaux-de-Fonds, CH
Lead reseachers #ElioPanese and #StanislasMichel will present #BF's recent report on the death of #Nzoy, a Zurich resident who died at Morges train station in 2021 after being shot by the police.
Find details about the event here: shorturl.at/TI3RT
#NzoyComplex
Alongside unveiling patterns, the Archive of Absence stands as a witness.
Many records lack important details. Some deaths go complete unrecorded. The AoA allows to submit information to help acknowledge and collectively honor the memory of those who lost their lives at the hands of the police.
So, did racism kill Nzoy?
Our evidence points to a systemic pattern where race, masculinity, and various forms of othering shape who is policed, how, and with what consequences.
Our research also shows that especially racialised men are overwhelmingly overexposed to lethal policing.
A racialised geography of violence emerges: over the last 10 years, the Canton of Vaud had been the deadliest in CH – both in absolute terms and relative to population and police size. Who died? 67% of cases show one marker of othering; 28% show multiple. Over 45% were racialised. We see a pattern.
In the past three decades, shootings went down, yet police-related deaths have remained steady.
Our platform documents 84 people killed in police interactions from 1992–2025: more than two per year. We include deaths from shootings, restraint, neglect or abuse in custody as well as police chases.
Silence surrounds these deaths. Officially released numbers mostly cover deaths through police fire arms while fatalities from restraint, custody, or neglect are obscured by euphemisms. This invisibility conceals violent patterns of police practices and thus the causes of reproduced violence.
Did racism kill #Nzoy?
As part of our recent investigation "The Death of Roger Nzoy Wilhem" we asked that question.
Digging into that question, we built the Archive of Absence: an independent database of police-related deaths in #Switzerland since the 1990's.
archiveofabsence.borderforensics.org
Who Killed Blessing Matthew at the Franco–Italian Border?
In 2022 #BF launched an investigation into her death.
Read now #CristinaDelBiaggio's and #SarahBachellerie's article "Framing Responsibility through an Analysis of the Entanglement of Law and Space" in State Crime Journal 👉 h1.nu/1dE3f
📣 Documenting & Challenging EU Border Violence
Thurs 9 Oct 2025, 1pm
MUSSI Seminar Room (+ online)
@mu-ssi.bsky.social
with
Charles Heller @borderforensics.bsky.social
Niamh Keady-Tabbal @maynoothlaw.bsky.social
Hanaa Hakiki @ecchr.bsky.social
Register: www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...
The result of our analysis challenges the prosecutor’s claim that Nzoy ran at the officer with a knife. His hands were open and empty when he was first shot. This exposes bias in official narratives of lethal policing and support the demand for #justice4nzoy.
borderforensics.org/investigations/nzoy
The frame-by-frame motion shows his left hand outstretched across his body and his right hand with visible finger articulation. Both moved naturally as open palms. This is bio-mechanically inconsistent with gripping a knife.
