the Utopia 56 association files a complaint against the maritime prefecture for “involuntary manslaughter”

This complaint was filed on Friday with the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office for facts dating back to December 14, 2022.

The Utopia 56 association has filed a complaint against the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea and against the British coast guard for “involuntary manslaughter” and “failure to provide assistance”, franceinfo learned on Tuesday February 6 from the association committed to the defense of migrants. The complaint was filed on Friday with the public prosecutor’s office in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) for facts dating back to December 14, 2022. That day, a boat sank. Thirty-nine people were rescued but at least four died. One person among them was able to be identified, specifies the association.

On the night of December 13 to 14, 2022, the Utopia 56 on-call team in Grande-Synthe (North) explains that they received an audio message on their voicemail. In this message, we hear a man on a boat repeating that he needs help, that there are children and families and that the water is rising.

The message is geolocated in French waters. The association immediately contacted the maritime prefecture by telephone and then the French and British rescuers by email, but the distress message “mayday” to activate the rescue was only issued an hour later by the British coast guard. A deadline considered late which Nikolaï Posner, spokesperson for Utopia 56, questions: “In water at a temperature of 5°C – which was the case at this time of year – the water survival time is one hour. You don’t have space to hesitate to that time.”

The association calls for “an investigation to be opened”

Another point raised by the association is the fact that survivors of this shipwreck indicate that they tried to call French help in vain: “We have the impression that sometimes the French state lets the boats drift, hoping that they will cross the border and end up in the United Kingdom.”

“If we file a complaint today, it is with the hope of never having to do it again.”

Nikolaï Posner, spokesperson for Utopia 56

at franceinfo

The association is now asking “that an investigation be opened in order to bring truth and justice to this tragedy”. Asked by franceinfo, the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea has not yet responded.

According to Utopia 56, in January 2024, Channel crossings increased by 13% compared to January 2023 and the number of people who died at the border increased from one to six over the same periods. Concerning the year 2023, around 36,000 migrants attempted to reach England by illegally crossing the Channel from the French coast, indicates the maritime prefecture. A figure down by more than 30% over one year. The maritime prefecture has counted 12 deaths over the past year.