Europol has published that four have been arrested in a multi-agency operation sparked by a German investigation into one of Europe’s most prolific child sexual abuse platforms on the dark web. These arrests were made in Germany (3) and Paraguay (1) earlier this month. The arrested individuals – all German nationals, had various roles in […]
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Fighting trafficking in human beings
The Commission is presenting today a new Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (2021-2025), focusing on preventing the crime, bringing traffickers to justice and protecting and empowering victims. Between 2017 and 2018, there were more than 14,000 registered victims within the European Union. Globally, traffickers make estimated profits of €29.4 billion in a single year. With […]
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Stop illegal live sports streaming, urge MEPs
The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee adopted on 13 April a report urging the European Commission to propose concrete measures tailored to live sporting events, allowing real-time blocking of access to illegal online sports content, or the removal of such content without interrupting legal broadcasts Broadcasting live sports plays an important role in the economy, […]
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Smuggling Network Connected to four deaths at sea dismantled in Spain
The suspects are linked to the smuggling of an important amount of people through the Strait of Gibraltar On 29 March 2021 Europol supported the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) in dismantling an organised crime group involved in migrant smuggling from Morocco to Spain through the Strait of Gibraltar. More than 150 police officers were […]
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Eurojust supports multi-country action against steroid trafficking ring
With judicial support from Eurojust, authorities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania have taken action against an organised crime group (OCG) which was involved in the production, distribution and sale of steroids and other illegal hormonal substances. During an action day coordinated by Eurojust, a production facility in Romania was seized and dismantled, and […]
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Europe’s imprisonment rate continues to fall
The overall European imprisonment rate – the number of persons in prison per 100,000 inhabitants – fell again slightly in 2020, consolidating a trend that started in 2013, according to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations for 2020. On 31 January 2020, there were 1,528,343 inmates in 51 prison administrations (out […]
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Returning Foreign Fighter Arrested in Spain
The suspect was part of the so-called Islamic State in the Iraqi-Syrian conflict zone. Europol supported an operation of the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) leading to the arrest of a member of the so-called Islamic State. The suspect had recently returned from the conflict zone on the border of Iraq and Syria. Two other individuals […]
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Myanmar: EU imposes sanctions over recent military coup
The Council today imposed restrictive measures on eleven individuals responsible for the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the subsequent military and police repression against peaceful demonstrators. Ten of the eleven persons targeted belong to the highest ranks of the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), including the Tatmadaw’s Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, […]
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EU imposes further sanctions over serious violations of human rights around the world
The Council decided to impose restrictive measures on eleven individuals and four entities responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses in various countries around the world. Together with the listing of four Russian individuals earlier this month, these 15 designations are part of the first broader package of listings under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. […]
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