Alessia Micalizzi
Seán Binder, on trial for helping refugees
Ireland (University of Galway)

competing for PRIX EUROPA Student Award - Rising Star AUDIO

‘Seán Binder is a 27-year-old Irish rescue diver and former humanitarian worker. In 2018, he was arrested on the island of Lesbos in Greece while working with a local NGO to provide aid to the refugees and asylum seekers arriving on the island. With other volunteers, he was charged with smuggling and other misdemeanour charges such as forgery of military plates and after being released on bail he was guaranteed a trial only in January 2023.
Besides giving space to his point of view in my radio package I also wanted to highlight how the criminalisation of humanitarian aid is increasingly being used by EU countries as a way to deter migration.’