According to the lawyer representing the bereaved families, “serious mistakes” in the rescue operation may have caused the deaths of 27 refugees in the Strait last month.
While requesting a public investigation to determine whether the “acts or omissions” of the British institutions resulted in human rights violations, separate legal cases were also filed against the British and French authorities involved in the operation.
On Monday, the relatives of the two men who disappeared at sea initiated a legal process in the UK calling for an independent public investigation to determine the full facts of what happened on the night of November 24.At the same time, Utopia 56, an organization that supports refugees in the north France, Has filed a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.
In the past few days, hundreds of refugees have crossed the dangerous sea.British Broadcasting Corporation Report More than 900 people crossed the weekend.
The maritime expert’s report was commissioned by a British lawyer to compile the relatives of the two men who are known or believed to have died in the November incident and commented on potential problems that night.
The Iranian Kurdish Saman Alipour took legal action on behalf of his brother Sirwan Alipour. Sirwan’s body has been confirmed, and his family went to Tehran on Monday to receive his body.
The second person involved in the operation was Zana Mamand Mohammad. It is believed that his brother Twana was killed in the tragedy. Tewana’s body has not been found.
Mohammad told the Guardian that his family paid US$20,000 for the trip to Twana. “I want to open this case so that this humanitarian disaster will not go unnoticed. I need justice, I need to find my brother, whether he is dead or alive,” he said.
Alipour told the Guardian: “Everyone likes Sirwan. He has a dream that cannot be realized in Iran.” He said he believed that the emergency service calls made by his brother and others on the ship had not received proper responses from the British and French.
“I took this legal action not for money, but because I lost my only brother. Now I have spent the worst days of my life alone. I want to protect people’s rights,” he said.
Maria Thomas of Duncan Lewis Law Firm, who represents relatives, said: “We have submitted a pre-action letter to the British government requesting a public investigation to determine the actions or omissions of the UK agencies involved in the coordination and enforcement. November 24 The search and rescue mission violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
“The independent expert evidence obtained on behalf of our clients indicates that there may be serious mistakes, which could result in significant loss of life. We look forward to the government’s response before January 3, 2022.”
Utopia 56 complaints have been filed against the Chief Maritime Officer of the Channel and North Sea, the Gris-Nez (Pas-de-Calais) Regional Operations Surveillance and Rescue Centre, and the British Coast Guard.It refers to manslaughter and failure to provide assistance at sea
Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer representing Utopia 56, said: “Victims and their families deserve truth and transparency. We know that when their ship is sinking, exiles and refugees try to contact British and French rescue services, and they shirk their responsibilities. They did not help the people who were in trouble, and from that moment on, we thought that the issue of liability-in a criminal sense-had already emerged.”
A spokesperson for the HM Coast Guard said of the legal action launched in France: “It’s inappropriate for us to comment on the specifics of this legal action. On November 24, the Royal Coast Guard Of more than 90 alerts, including 999 emergency calls. Every call has been answered, evaluated and acted upon, including the deployment of search and rescue resources where appropriate. We have always and will always respond to anyone in trouble, just Like we did that day.”
