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French Judge Probes Ex-EU Border Chief for Complicity in Crimes Against Humanity
- On Tuesday, The Paris Court authorized a judicial investigation into former European Union border agency chief Fabrice Leggeri over allegations of complicity in crimes against humanity during his Frontex leadership.
- The French Human Rights League filed a 2024 complaint accusing Leggeri of encouraging Frontex agents to help Libyan and Greek authorities intercept migrant vessels; the Appeal ruled the case had grounds for investigation.
- LDH lawyer Emmanuel Daoud said the investigation will examine Leggeri's "possible criminal liability" in "carnage that has resulted in thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean," during his seven-year spell as Frontex chief.
- Leggeri, currently a European Parliament member for the National Rally, declined to comment Tuesday as he was unaware of the decision; prosecutors would require a parliamentary vote to waive his immunity for indictment.
- Some 34,000 asylum seekers have died or vanished crossing the Mediterranean since 2014, according to the International Organization , while LDH President Nathalie Tehio expects the judicial probe to take a long time.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Former director Fabrice Leggeri denies the allegations and says he is unaware of the court's decision.
The Paris Court of Appeal has opened an investigation into the former head of the European Union's border agency (Frontex), Fabrice Leggeri, for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity, a judicial source said today.
French Fabrice Legger was already accused during his term of office of approving the so-called pushback procedure for asylum seekers.
A complaint had been lodged in 2024 by Utopia 56 and the League of Human Rights against the former director of the European agency Frontex, who became the MEP of the RN, denouncing his responsibility for the illegal refoulement of migrants in the Mediterranean. An investigating judge will be seized.
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