Humanitarian organisation SOS Humanity has accused the European Union border agency, Frontex, of facilitating the interception of migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and their illegal return to Libya, where they face torture, rape, arbitrary detention and other forms of abuse.

The organisation said Frontex’s aerial surveillance operations, involving aircraft and drones, were being used to provide information about boats carrying migrants to actors responsible for intercepting them and returning them to detention centres in Libya.

In a statement, SOS Humanity raised concerns over the EU’s decision to further strengthen Frontex’s budget and expand its powers, despite mounting allegations of human rights violations against the agency.

It cited the case of a Sudanese man who is being supported by the organisation front-LEX to take legal action against Frontex before European courts.

According to SOS Humanity, the man made several attempts to cross the Mediterranean after fleeing Sudan but was intercepted each time by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and returned to Libya.

The organisation said his experience reflected accounts repeatedly shared by survivors rescued by its humanitarian vessels.

It also referred to an incident in June 2026, when Frontex reportedly acknowledged sharing information about a distress-at-sea situation with Libyan authorities.

Following the incident, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard allegedly rammed a boat carrying people fleeing across the Mediterranean, including children, causing some to fall into the water, while others were beaten aboard the patrol vessel.

SOS Humanity further said allegations against Frontex had been mounting for years, citing investigations by journalists and monitoring organisations, including Aegean Boat Report, into the agency’s alleged involvement in or concealment of violent pushbacks along the European Union’s external borders with Greece.

It also highlighted investigations in France involving former Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri over alleged crimes against humanity. Leggeri is accused of encouraging agency staff to facilitate interceptions by Libyan and Greek authorities.

The humanitarian organisation said it had consistently criticised Frontex’s aerial surveillance activities, arguing that they were being used to facilitate the forced interception of migrants rather than rescue people in distress at sea.

David Yambio, executive director of the Refugees in Libya initiative and godfather of SOS Humanity’s rescue vessel Humanity 2, accused the agency of contributing to abuses against migrants.

“Today more than ever, Frontex, the long, violent arm of Europe, is making everything more dangerous. We will continue, for the years to come, to fight and demand justice and accountability,” Yambio said.

SOS Humanity said it would continue monitoring and documenting activities at sea and advocating for the protection of migrants and refugees.

It stressed that people rescued or found in distress in the Mediterranean should be taken to places of safety, in accordance with their rights under international law.