Crete, Greece — On 21 May 2025, 18-year-old Abdulrahman from Sudan will stand trial alongside another Sudanese teenager on smuggling charges. 18-year-old Abdulrahman spoke up for his co-passenger, yet both were charged. Their story is a stark example of both the cruel absurdity of this criminalization and the solidarity of those affected.
Abdulrahman arrived on the island of Crete on December 13, 2024, just two months after turning 18. He was among 45 people who made the dangerous journey across the sea.
Before traveling, he had been living in Libya with his brother. Libyan militias kidnapped his brother and used this to force him to steer the boat — a disturbingly common occurrence for migrants departing from Libya, where abductions and ransom demands are widespread.1 2
Upon arrival, Abdulrahman and another young boy who had helped with some tasks during the crossing were arrested. The words Abdulrahman shared during his initial police interrogation, knowing the other boy had been detained as well, expose the tragic absurdity of these prosecutions — and highlight his courage and solidarity:
“Please, the other boy is not to blame for anything, he is just a passenger. I simply asked him for help while I was driving as we had big waves—to give me water, to help me refill gas—because I simply couldn’t do it all by myself. Nothing more. I asked all others on board for help.”
Despite being under pressure and facing criminal charges himself, Abdulrahman stood up for his fellow passenger, trying to shield him from being prosecuted, too. Nevertheless, the boy was arrested and charged as his co-driver and accomplice — which says a lot about the character of these prosecutions:
While these smuggling laws are allegedly intended to protect people from exploitation and violence —imposing harsher penalties when lives are endangered — it is deeply cynical and hypocritical that individuals are criminalized for actions specifically aimed at preventing harm and protecting the lives of those involved.
What was the boy supposed to do? Refuse to help, and thereby put his own life and the lives of everyone else on board at risk?
It shows clearly that these laws are not about whether lives were endangered or protecting those on board, but quite the opposite: punishing anyone who plays any role in helping people arrive alive in Europe.
Abdulrahman and his co-defendant are two of more than 50 teenagers aged 15-21 who fled the war in Sudan and are currently held in Avlona Youth Prison and Malandrion prison on smuggling charges after arriving by boat.
This criminalization must end—once and for all. Stop punishing people for steering boats!
We demand
- to drop the smuggling charges against Abdulrahman and his co-defendant as in line with international law
- freedom for all those imprisoned for “boat driving”
- an end to the criminalization of migration and the incarceration of people on the move.
After protesting the dire conditions in Avlona prison, Abdulrahman and around half of the detained youth were transferred to Malandrino prison, deep in the Greek mainland. Since then, communication with them has been extremely limited.
- European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (2021): “No Way Out. Migrants Trappend in Libya Face Crimes Against Humanity“. ↩︎
- UNHCR (2024): “On this journey, no one cares if you live or die.’ Abuse, protection, and justice along routes between East and West Africa and Africa’s Mediterranean coast“. ↩︎