Five years after refugees and migrants in Libya launched the 100 Days Protest following mass arrests in Tripoli, Refugees in Libya is set to convene activists, survivors, lawyers and migrant-led organisations in Berlin to reflect on the struggle and the pursuit of accountability.

The event, titled “From the Streets of Tripoli to the ICC: Five Years of Struggle and Solidarity with Refugees in Libya,” will take place on October 3, 2026, at the Spore Initiative in Berlin.

The protest began on October 1, 2021, following mass raids in the Gargaresh area of Tripoli, during which thousands of refugees and migrants were arrested. While some were taken to detention centres, others gathered outside the UNHCR office, where they remained for more than three months demanding protection, evacuation, freedom and an end to violence and abuses in Libya.

According to Refugees in Libya, the protest became a defining moment for migrant-led organising and continued to shape its work over the following five years.

The Berlin gathering comes as proceedings against **Khaled El Hishri**, a former official at Mitiga Prison, move forward at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC has confirmed all 17 charges against El Hishri, involving alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and committed the case to trial.

Refugees in Libya said the case is significant for survivors who experienced or witnessed alleged torture, sexual violence, enslavement, enforced disappearances and killings in Mitiga and other detention facilities.

The organisation, however, said the case also raises broader questions about Libya’s detention and migration-control system.

It said refugees and migrants have for years faced detention, exploitation and violence across Libya, while people attempting to cross the Mediterranean are intercepted and returned to the country.

Refugees in Libya also questioned the role of European governments and institutions in supporting structures involved in interception and containment, arguing that accountability should examine the wider system rather than focus exclusively on individual perpetrators.

The event will examine the El Hishri proceedings, survivor participation and the limits and possibilities of international justice. Speakers will include **David Yambio of Refugees in Libya** and **Allison West of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)**, with the discussion moderated by Viola Castellano.

The organisers said the gathering will also explore how survivors can participate in legal and political processes without being reduced to witnesses, and how court cases can contribute to wider organising and mobilisation.

A second session will bring together migrant-led organisations, African diaspora groups, anti-racist movements, lawyers, journalists, researchers, artists and other groups to discuss solidarity, legal advocacy and collective action.

A multimedia exhibition featuring photographs, testimonies and material from the 100 Days Protest will accompany the event.

Refugees in Libya said the gathering is intended not simply as a commemoration of the 2021 protest, but as an opportunity to examine continuing conditions facing refugees and migrants in Libya.

The programme will begin with an exhibition at 3:30 p.m., followed by a discussion on five years of Refugees in Libya’s organising at 4 p.m. The El Hishri ICC case session is scheduled for 4:45 p.m., followed by food and informal exchanges and small-group discussions from 6:45 p.m.

The event will be held in English, with free entry, at Spore Initiative, Hermannstraße 86, Berlin-Neukölln.

La détention de 45 jours du Sea-Watch 5, ainsi que l’amende de 7 500 euros, ont été annulées par le tribunal de Naples.

Les sanctions avaient été imposées au motif que le Sea-Watch 5 n’aurait pas communiqué avec les autorités libyennes lors d’une opération de sauvetage menée en août.

Sea-Watch considère cette procédure comme illégale et avait engagé une action en justice. Dans une décision préliminaire, le tribunal a suivi l’argumentation de Sea-Watch et annulé à la fois la mesure de détention et l’amende. Le Sea-Watch 5 peut désormais reprendre la mer pour mener des opérations de sauvetage.

Les sanctions contre Sea-Watch avaient été imposées à la suite d’une opération de sauvetage menée le 13 août, au cours de laquelle l’équipage du Sea-Watch 5 avait secouru six personnes dans les eaux internationales. Après que les autorités italiennes eurent ordonné au navire de rejoindre le port éloigné de Naples, l’équipage a été accusé de ne pas avoir informé les autorités libyennes du sauvetage à son arrivée. Le navire avait alors été placé en détention.

Sea-Watch salue la décision du tribunal, qu’elle considère comme le dernier succès d’une série de procédures judiciaires engagées contre les mesures de blocage visant les navires civils de sauvetage en mer sur la base du décret Piantedosi. Celui-ci oblige les équipages de sauvetage à suivre les instructions des autorités italiennes afin de communiquer avec les soi-disant « garde-côtes libyens » lors des opérations de sauvetage. Sea-Watch fait partie de la Justice Fleet, une alliance d’organisations civiles de sauvetage en mer qui rejettent catégoriquement toute coopération avec des acteurs libyens impliqués dans de graves violations des droits humains.

La porte-parole de Sea-Watch, Julia Winkler, explique :

« Cette décision remet en cause une loi qui était illégitime dès le départ. La Libye n’est pas un lieu sûr. Les soi-disant garde-côtes libyens font partie des violences que fuient les personnes migrantes — ils ne sont donc pas un acteur légitime du sauvetage en mer. La coopération de l’UE avec la Libye pour externaliser le contrôle migratoire constitue un crime contre les droits humains. Point final. »

Les succès judiciaires ne peuvent toutefois pas compenser le temps de sauvetage perdu. Depuis 2023, les autorités italiennes ont immobilisé des navires civils de sauvetage plus de 40 fois, leur faisant perdre au total plus de 900 jours d’activité. La détention du Sea-Watch 5 était déjà la huitième mesure de ce type rien qu’en 2026. À la mi-septembre, les navires civils de sauvetage avaient déjà été empêchés d’effectuer des opérations pendant plus de 200 jours cette année.

Il s’agit de journées durant lesquelles les navires de sauvetage ont été contraints de rester au port tandis que des personnes continuaient de mourir en mer : en 2026, plus de 1 700 personnes sont déjà mortes ou portées disparues sur les routes migratoires de la Méditerranée. Depuis l’arrivée de Giorgia Meloni au pouvoir, plus de 10 000 personnes ont perdu la vie en Méditerranée.

The 45-day detention of the Sea-Watch 5 and the fine of 7,500 euros have been overturned by the court in Naples.

The sanctions had been imposed on the accusation that Sea-Watch had not communicated with the Libyan authorities during a rescue mission in August.

Sea-Watch considers the procedure unlawful and filed a lawsuit against it. In a preliminary decision, the court followed Sea-Watch’s reasoning and annulled both the determination and the fine. The Sea-Watch 5 can now set sail again to carry out rescue missions.

The sanctions against Sea-Watch were imposed following a rescue operation on August 13, in which the crew of the Sea-Watch 5 rescued six people from the water in international waters. After the Italian authorities instructed the ship to call at the far-flung port of Naples, the crew was accused of not informing the Libyan authorities about the rescue upon arrival. As a result, the ship was detained.

Sea-Watch welcomes the court’s decision as the latest success in a series of successful legal steps against blockades of civilian sea rescue ships on the basis of the so-called Piantedosi Decree. This obliges rescue crews to follow the instructions of the Italian authorities to communicate with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard during rescue operations. Sea-Watch is part of the Justice Fleet, an alliance of civilian sea rescue organizations that categorically rejects cooperation with Libyan actors involved in serious human rights violations.

Sea-Watch spokeswoman Julia Winkler explains:

“This decision shakes up a law that was illegitimate from the start. Libya is not a safe place. The so-called Libyan coast guard is part of the violence from which people are fleeing – and not a legitimate actor in sea rescue. The EU’s cooperation with Libya to externalise migration defence is a crime against human rights. Period.”

Legal successes cannot bring back lost rescue time. Since 2023, the Italian authorities have detained civilian rescue ships more than 40 times, taking away a total of more than 900 days of operation. The detention of the Sea-Watch 5 was already the eighth such measure in 2026 alone. By mid-September, civilian rescue ships had already been prevented from carrying out operations for more than 200 days this year.

These are days when rescue ships were forced to stay in port while people continued to die at sea: in 2026, more than 1,700 people have already died or gone missing on the escape routes across the Mediterranean. Since Giorgia Meloni took office, more than 10,000 people have lost their lives in the Mediterranean.