Katy Fallon

journalist ✏️ mainly about borders & how they impact people; katyfallonjourno(at)gmail(dot)com. (she/her)

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

Our story from last year which was an investigation into the deadly Pylos shipwreck has been shortlisted for the #IJ4EU impact award alongside some brilliant other stories.

A reminder that recently a few of those who survived the shipwreck had their asylum denied in Greece…

[Global Investigative Journalism Network @gijn]

@MerleBaere @nielsfas @LisbethQuass @svtnyheter @yleuutiset @ForensicArchi @CST_echo @counterinv @maksy_taxi @weizman_eyal @andrdimitra @j_aspirateur @veronika_nad @FbdnStories @ObserverUK @paper_trail_m @ArmandoInfo @KRIKrs @ICFJ @IrpiMedia @OCCRP @LHreports @EvaConstantaras @MORGANMEAKER @DanieC @daniel_howden @tinayingxu @unbiasthenews @Hostwriter @bmatejcic @gabcruciata @LeahPattem @d_maragoudaki @daphnetoli @laurentrichard0 @reporterb @abraji @Ojo_Publico @TBIJ @expresso @folha @ndr @aktuelle_stunde @SZ @le_scienze @InvestigativeD @nrc This investigation by @we_are_solomon, @counterinv, @guardian, and ARD takes a forensic look at a 2023 shipwreck that killed >500 migrants in Greek waters.

Contradicting official accounts, the journalists found a failure to mobilize help.

https://t.co/UfghyUsKOZ

[Jacky Davis @DrJackyDavis]

Have you talked to doctors in Australia? I have . The only coercion they report is families stopping their loved ones having an assisted death.

Please listen to those who are already involved. They dont bear out your concerns. Please stop scaremongering, you’re better than that

[Solomon @we_are_solomon]

💥#NEW: Drones. Thermal cameras. Surveillance towers that can see 20 km away.

A months-long investigation by @g_christides @katymfallon @SchmitzFlorian_ @marguerite_jay @Hibai_ reveals how the EU uses AI technology toward the people seeking refuge in it.
https://t.co/qq32J5txah

[Solomon @we_are_solomon]

💥#NEW: Drones. Thermal cameras. Surveillance towers that can see 20 km away.

A months-long investigation by @g_christides @katymfallon @SchmitzFlorian_ @marguerite_jay @Hibai_ reveals how the EU uses AI technology toward the people seeking refuge in it.
https://t.co/qq32J5txah

[Marguerite Meyer @marguerite_jay]

(1/8) #InvisibleWalls: Inside EUROPE’S PUSH for AI at its BORDERS.
👉risks for people on the move
👉business opportunities for companies
👉high costs for taxpayers
Our international collaborative investigation @Wochenzeitung @we_are_solomon @inkstickmedia @el_pais @Tagesspiegel

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

Delighted to find this timely and important book by my friend @PSchwartzstein on climate violence on the shelves of the Islington Waterstones - cannot recommend it enough - beautifully and carefully written too.

[Peter Schwartzstein @PSchwartzstein]

Very grateful to Pilita Clark and the FT for including 'The Heat and the Fury,' which was published a fortnight ago, among her four best new books in climate!
https://t.co/SkBSDjSRe0

[Melissa Pawson @melissa_pawson]

Read @NatalieSGruber’s powerful piece on how Greece opened a secret criminal ‘investigation’ into her after she exposed their crimes at the border.

It’s the fourth piece in my series for @BeyondSlavery on how migration became a criminal offence 👇

https://t.co/tEbCKS0iZc

[Franziska Grillmeier @f_grillmeier]

Happy to see our report on law 036 in #Niger listed at BIGSAS Journalist Award.

Until today no one can say how many people have died on the desert routes which appeared after the law’s introduction. #EUmigration

@zeitonline @katymfallon & @journalismfund @HaigesVincent

[Nektaria Stamouli @nstamouli]

The @FPAGreece condemns in the strongest terms the detention and arrest of our colleague Giorgos Androutsos

https://t.co/koSpiQYUqI

[Michael Trammer @mic_tra]

Convicted of all charges

Bad things sometimes come to a good end - even if it takes years. The mills of Greek justice may grind slowly, but today all four suspects were finally convicted in the case of the racist mobilization in the port of #Thermi on Lesbos on 1 March 2020 against a group of refugees.

The refugees initially drifted for hours on a rubber dinghy between Greece and Turkey, unable to maneuver, and were then brought to the port by the Greek coast guard, where a racist mob had gathered. The mob shouted racist slurs at the group, prevented them from going ashore and individual participants even threw plastic bottles at the refugees. The visuals and audio of that day are etched in my memory: The bawling mob, whose contempt for those perceived as invaders was directed at helpless, crying toddlers.

In addition to the attack on the refugees, two of the perpetrators were also convicted for beating me up as I was documenting the events (along with several others who were never identified by the police) and throwing my camera in the harbor basin. The leader of the group was sentenced to 37 months (more than 3 years) in prison for the attack on me. Another defendant was sentenced to 29 months jail on probation as a simple accomplice. Two of the participants in the mob received 28 and 26 months in prison suspended on probation. The verdict is not yet final and all defendants can appeal. This has a suspensive effect.

With the help of lawyer Elli Kriona Saranti from @HIASGreece, colleague Violeta Dimitrakopoulou, who was on site on March 1st 2020 and testified as a witness, and researcher and digital forensic expert @phesimeonid , we analyzed all the evidence, were able to clearly identify several perpetrators and pursued the trial. A date was set three times, but was then postponed on the day of the trial. Now the trial finally took place. The digital material was a decisive piece of evidence. At the court in #Mytilini, however, it is not necessarily customary to play videos as evidence. As Saranti insisted on this, they were finally examined at an extra hearing today. This was quickly followed by the verdict “guilty of all charges”.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported me with this case. Starting immediately after the attack, during the following shitstorm, in overcoming the psychological effects and the legal process (including several trips to the island). The biggest victory remains that the Greek justice system recognizes that the residents of Lesvos resorted to vigilante justice in 2020 for racist reasons. And that attacks on journalists are not adequate - especially not with the motivation to prevent reporting.

(Photo from my archive, March 1st 2020)
#Lesvos #antireport #Lesbos #refugees

[Louisa Loveluck @leloveluck]

Israel has killed more than 120 journalists since October last year. That this compound in Hasbaya was housing reporters should have been well known.

[Ernie P @whoisernie]

New from me at the @dailydot:

Google has been giving free promos in ads worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to anti LGBT orgs like Alliance Defending Freedom.

https://t.co/bfPoLgZm8t

[Jack Butcher @jackpbutcher]

In Greece, hundreds are arrested each year for people smuggling. Greece says it's protecting borders. But human rights groups say it’s asylum seekers, not real smugglers, who are ending up behind bars — often for years. https://t.co/vVAu7cDNte

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

How Europe deals with people arriving at its borders is an ever pertinent question inciting increasingly polarised answers.

The documentary is now available to listen online and will be broadcast this Thursday (24th).

With thanks to all that spoke to us.

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

Listen to our piece for @bbcworldservice about the significant number of migrants caught up in smuggler prosecutions in Greece - following lawyers advocating for change & those at the sharp end of the law w/@jackpbutcher @WhistledownProd https://t.co/2LVwyZro4r

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

This is an issue being seen increasingly across Europe as well as recent related cases in the UK. Those in charge argue that strict laws are needed to crack down on smuggling whilst human rights advocates argue innocent people crossing borders are being unjustly targeted.

[Lorenzo Tondo @lorenzo_tondo]

EXCLUSIVE #Croatia’s police burns clothing,phones&passports seized from #asylumseekers before pushing them back. ⁦@NoNameKitchen1⁩ has shared with us⁩ 📸&testimonies documenting yet another instance of violence vs #migrants.By @amyhawk_⁩ & me🧵 https://t.co/zwN8laXFDV

[European Centre for Press and Media Freedom @ECPMF]

And the last, but definetely not least, #IJ4EU Impact Award 2024 winner is "The Pylos Shipwreck" 👏

We congratulate the team of journalists from @guardian, @we_are_solomon, and @counterinv on this absolutely brilliant project!

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

Do watch/attend this panel in Athens today discussing AI, migration & more - @g_christides will be speaking about some research we’ve been doing on this w/@SchmitzFlorian_ & Deana Mrkaja

More info here👇

https://t.co/SIUX7M838k

[Katy Fallon @katymfallon]

Homayoun Sabetara - an Iranian asylum seeker has been released from jail on a reduced sentence after years behind bars on smuggling charges. His family and lawyers argued he was coerced to drive a van w/ others into Greece & is himself a victim of draconian smuggling legislation.

[RSA @rspaegean]

BREAKING: Homayoun Sabetara will be freed!

The trial has just ended. Homayoun, an Iranian refugee arrested in 2021, was found guilty, but his reduced sentence, time served and mitigating circumstances mean that he will be released in a few weeks.

@freehomayoun
#FreeHomayoun