– I am being investigated for espionage, human trafficking, money laundering, running criminal organizations and networks and hiding people in Greece. That’s what Tommy Olsen, Tromsøværing, says. Since 2017, he has documented how refugees move at sea in the Aegean Sea, and how they are met by the Greek coast guard. He has been under investigation by the Greek authorities for several years. According to his lawyers, they have tried to have him arrested in Greece. Now the Greek authorities will have him internationally wanted. The arrest warrant has already been issued in Greek, and Olsen’s lawyers expect it to be made international in the near future. – When it becomes international, I cannot travel out of Norway. I will be arrested wherever I travel. I am wanted through Interpol, says Olsen to news. As a result, he once again has to stay at home in Norway, while the family goes on holiday in the south. He still does not know when the arrest warrant will be made international, or whether the Norwegian authorities will then arrest him in Tromsø and extradite him to Greece. But even though he has to live with uncertainty, he is nevertheless convinced that he has done nothing wrong. It was TV 2 that first mentioned the international wanted. Overcrowded boats with refugees trying to cross over are not an uncommon sight in the Mediterranean. The picture was taken in November 2022. Photo: STRINGER / Reuters – Being sent back across the border by force Olsen believes that over several years he has documented criminal activity from the Greek authorities and the Greek coast guard. Olsen has brought in documentation which he believes shows several cases where the Greek coast guard engages in so-called “pushback”. – Boat refugees who try to cross the border to Greece are stopped, even if they express a desire to apply for asylum. Then they are forcibly sent back across the border, he says. What are pushbacks? Pushbacks involve a series of government measures aimed at forcing refugees and migrants out of their territory and at the same time preventing access to the current legal and procedural framework. In doing so, states circumvent safeguards governing international protection (including minors), detention or detention, deportation and the use of force. Source: European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights The videos and images Olsen has collected have been widely published by the international press. The Greek authorities have always claimed that they are not engaged in “pushback”, but they have been condemned in the human rights court in Strasbourg for not doing enough to help refugees. Earlier in June, a similar case against Up was in the human rights court. Olsen’s documentation has been part of the basis for getting that matter clarified. In May 2023, the New York Times gained access to a video in which the Greek coast guard puts a group of asylum seekers, including a 6-month-old baby, out at sea. Denies that Greece engages in “pushbacks” Diplomat Constantine Danassis at the Greek embassy in Oslo tells news that when it comes to the accusations against the Greek authorities for engaging in “pushbacks”, no well-documented, credible or verifiable information has been presented. – The accusations are not based on evidence that allows the investigating authorities to go deeper into the cases. The accusations are based on anonymous and unreliable informants, who are looking to create prejudiced accusations rather than promoting the truth. Danassis emphasizes that Greece has saved thousands of lives since the refugee crisis began in 2015. – Greece is fully committed to complying with international regulations, as determined in the Geneva Conventions, the SOLAS Convention and the International Convention on Search and Rescue at Sea. Greece places special emphasis on respect for human rights, says Danassis. Danassis also states that the embassy has no authority to comment on the process by which Greece is working to have Tommy Olsen internationally wanted. This is the reply of the Greek embassy (in English): “To my understanding, you raise two points in your e-mail, one regarding the case of Mr Tommy Olsen and a second one, regarding the alleged “push-backs” of irregular refugees by the Greek Authorities (notably the Hellenic Coast Guard). Regarding the first point raised, let me inform you that since this case is being followed closely by the Greek judicial system, this Embassy has no authority or jurisdiction to comment either on the procedure or the possible outcome. In a country where the rule of law prevails, there is a clear separation between the Judicial and the Executive Powers. Furthermore, regarding the alleged accusations made from time to time on “push-backs” of irregular migrants, let me assure you that Greece, as a member state of the EU, remains committed to the protection of human rights, applies the relevant national, EU and international legislation and investigates each reported incident and, in addition to the regular investigations carried out by the Judiciary, has independent control mechanisms, such as the National Transparency Authority, responsible for investigating complaints of arbitrary and illegal practices. The Hellenic Ministries of Citizen Protection and Migration and Asylum have called on all those who report such abuses to provide available evidence to the relevant national authorities for investigation. These accusations often made against the Greek Authorities in their endeavors to combat irregular migration are inaccurate. Let me assure you that since the beginning of the refugee/migration crisis, back in 2015, Greece has literally saved thousands of human lives in the Aegean Sea. Hundreds of thousands of people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, refugees and illegal migrants from Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan and other Central Asian countries have crossed the north-eastern land borders, separating Greece from Turkey or crossed the Aegean Sea or landed at the southern coasts of Greece, while a considerable number of them have already left Greece for another European country. Of course, a large number of them have already received refugee status, live and work in Greece. While multiple allegations of so-called “push-backs” have been reported from time to time by media or NGOs, no credible, well-documented or verifiable information has been provided so far. As an example, “Lighthouse Reports” recently failed to provide material evidence related to the accusations contained in its report, when requested by the Greek authorities. This case points out that most, if not all cases, accusations are not followed by supporting evidence that would allow investigating authorities to go deeper into the cases, but they are based on anonymous or non-credible testimonies, the purpose of which is more about creating biased accusations rather than promoting the truth. As a general concluding comment, I would like to seize this opportunity to assure you that Greece remains fully committed to upholding its obligations under international law as set forth in the 1951 Geneva Convention and other relevant international and European instruments, including the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. Greece places particular emphasis on the respect for human rights and humanitarian law. At the same time, as a sovereign state whose external borders coincide with the EU’s ones, Greece also has the responsibility to ensure that all third country nationals seeking to enter its territory, fulfill all national and European prerequisites to do”. Fearing unfair legal proceedings, Tromsøværingen is therefore not surprised that the Greek authorities want him behind bars. – If you do something criminal, you don’t want it to be caught on video and published in the press, says Olsen. – So the focus I have helped to place on the Greek authorities’ human rights violations is probably the main reason why they want a good source of information to disappear. If he is tried in Greece, he risks a long prison sentence. His Greek lawyer also does not believe he will get a fair trial there. Tommy Olsen works as a preschool teacher in Tromsø. In addition, he runs the website Aegean Boat Report, which provides information on human movements in the Aegean Sea. – Very good arguments at hand Brynjulf Risnes is Olsen’s Norwegian lawyer. He believes and hopes that there will not be a trial in Greece. – We feel that we have very good arguments on hand for him not to be sent to Greece, and hope in the long run that the Norwegian court will listen to our arguments, he says. Tommy Olsen’s Norwegian lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, hopes his client will not be extradited to Greece. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news Risnes points out that Amnesty and two UN rapporteurs also share their view. – They have come out with clear support for Tommy and say that this is completely unreasonable from the Greek authorities. Olsen’s lawyers have on their own initiative notified the Norwegian authorities that the arrest warrant is on the way. – We have submitted quite a lot of documentation that shows how special this case is. So we hope to avoid the most dramatic consequences, at least, says Risnes. The lawyer points out that the Norwegian authorities have previously rejected cases from other countries, if there have been major deficiencies in the arrest warrants. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs news that they are aware of Olsen’s case, but will not say how they relate to the fact that Greece wants to put in place an international arrest warrant. – In this type of matter, we are subject to strict confidentiality, so I cannot comment on details in it, says senior communications adviser, Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde. – We provide consular assistance, as it is called, i.e. help to Norwegians abroad, in line with the rules that apply to this type of help. Has previously imprisoned humanitarian workers – We believe that this type of accusation and prosecution of what we believe to be human rights defenders such as Tommy Olsen, does not belong anywhere in a legal system. That’s what political adviser at Amnesty International, Beate Ekeløve-Slydal, says. She has followed Olsen’s case for a long time. – Tommy Olsen should never have had any charges brought against him for the important documentation and information work he does. Amnesty International’s political adviser, Beate Ekeløve-Slydal, has followed Tommy Olsen’s case for a long time. Photo: Kristin Rødland Buick / Amnesty International Ekeløve-Slydal says Amnesty will issue a clear request to the Norwegian authorities not to extradite him to Greece. – Unfortunately, we believe that there are serious grounds for fearing that he will not get a fair trial in Greece. This has become quite a big political issue in Greece. There is a lot of prestige involved in the case, she says. – For the Greek authorities, it is about scaring away those who had to work in the same way as Tommy Olsen. Ekeløve-Slydal highlights a similar case, where two people in their 20s, Sean Binder and Sarah Mardini, were accused of, among other things, espionage and human trafficking. They went to the Greek island of Lesvos to assist with humanitarian work in 2017. The following year they were imprisoned by the Greek authorities. Binder and Mardini spent over 100 days in custody, before they were released on bail. The trial brought against them was eventually closed, after the Greek court dismissed the charges. Part of everyday life Tommy Olsen can at any time be visited by the Norwegian police, arrested and sent to Greece. While he waits to see what happens next, Olsen continues to do what he can to help the refugees in the Mediterranean. He has been involved in the case for almost 10 years. At the start, it was mainly for the refugees to get more information about what was happening in the Mediterranean. Before 2020, he was also several times in Greece. – I think that the time in 2015 and 2016, when the storms were at their worst, made a very strong impression on me. It put things into perspective, and I felt that I could contribute something that benefited others, says Olsen. – It grew on me, and the commitment became greater over time. Now it is part of my everyday life. The pandemic gradually made it more difficult to travel down. Now he has also been advised against leaving Norway, because he could be arrested. But he continues to do what he can, from Tromsø. – Most of the information I get comes directly from the refugees who come in. I run a hotline for people who need assistance. It is open 24 hours a day and operated seven days a week, concludes Olsen. Published 18.06.2024, at 15.43
ttn-69
Greece wants an international search for Norwegian Tommy Olsen – news Troms and Finnmark
