Solroutes’s solidarity statement with Tommy Olsen
The SolRoutes research group expresses its full solidarity with Tommy Olsen, founder of Aegean Boat Report, following the European Arrest Warrant issued against him by Greek authorities on charges of human trafficking and facilitation of irregular entry.
We are deeply alarmed by this development. Tommy Olsen and Aegean Boat Report have, for years, carried out vital monitoring, documentation, and reporting work in the Aegean Sea, alerting coastguards and rescue services to people in distress and bearing witness to the systematic violations of the rights of people on the move at Europe’s eastern borders. This is not a criminal activity; it is humanitarian work.
The SolRoutes’ path crossed Olsen’s during a research fieldwork last summer, during which we had the opportunity and privilege to hear his testimony about his work in the Aegean. The abolitionist and solidaristic frame that imbues the Aegean Boat Report resonates with our research work and with all those who stand in solidarity against the criminalisation of unauthorised movements. As researchers studying migration and solidarity networks across Europe and beyond, we are well acquainted with the landscape in which the Aegean Boat Report operates. We also recognise the pattern now being applied to Tommy Olsen: the deliberate weaponisation of anti-smuggling legislation against individuals and organisations whose only offence is to document, denounce, assist, and show solidarity with other human beings. This pattern represents one of the most troubling dynamics in contemporary EU border governance.
The criminalisation of solidarity is not a legal technicality: it is a political choice, one that silences witnesses, intimidates solidarity actors, and renders invisible the violence enacted at Europe’s borders.
We call on Norwegian authorities to refuse extradition and to protect Tommy Olsen from prosecution for acts that constitute legitimate humanitarian and civic engagement.
We call on European institutions to urgently address the misuse of criminal law against human rights defenders operating in migration contexts.
Unite we stand with Tommy Olsen and all those who, at personal risk, refuse to look away.
