- 29 Nov 2019
- [International Secretariat]
- Region: FRENCH REPUBLIC
- Topic: Refugees and Migrants
Reacting to the decision of the Grenoble appeal court to acquit Pierre Mumber, a mountain guide who offered hot tea and warm clothes to four West African asylum seekers in the Alps and was then convicted of “facilitating irregular entry”, Rym Khadhraoui, Research Fellow at Amnesty International, said:
“We are delighted that Pierre Mumber has been acquitted today – this is a victory for common sense, and for a good man who did absolutely nothing wrong.
“Pierre is unfortunately one of many people facing harassment, intimidation and attacks at the hands of authorities for supporting migrants and refugees. However, it is heartening to see the courts are calling out this misapplication of the law. We hope that after this decision others criminalized for acts of solidarity at the French-Italian border will be celebrated instead of being punished.”
Background
Pierre Mumber was sentenced to a three-month suspended sentence for conviction for facilitating illegal entry. This has now been overturned on appeal.
Dr Scott Warren, a humanitarian volunteer who had also faced charges for his humanitarianism was yesterday found not guilty of the charges against him in Arizona.
21 November 2019
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL QUOTE
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