European Parlamentarians with Mimmo Lucano Against Criminalization of Solidarity

On 30th September, Domenico “Mimmo” Lucano, the former mayor of Riace, was sentenced to 13 years and 2 months in prison for “criminal conspiracy to assist illegal immigration, fraud, embezzlement and abuse of office“. Like him, too many citizens and local authorities are facing prosecution and sentences, in several EU member states, for acting in solidarity with those seeking refuge in the EU. In this context, three MEPs from progressive groups, committed to a welcoming EU asylum policy, based on solidarity and humanity, want to send strong signals. They will travel to Riace beginning of June to show their support and speak out in an event organised with Mimmo Lucano. Please find the agenda below

This two-day mission in Riace is coorganised by MEPs Rosa d’Amato and Damien Carême (Greens/EFA) and Cornelia Ernst (The Left).

AGENDA

Friday June 3
10:00 am	Press conference Presentation of the initiative of the European Parliamentarians in support of solidarity with migrants and refugees followed by interviews with MEPs
11:00 am - 1:00 pm	Workshop “Solidarity does not stop - restart from Riace” Part I The criminalization of solidarity Chair: Corrado Mandreoli (ResQ - People Saving People, Vice-president) 11:00 Welcome by Domenico Lucano, former Mayor of Riace 11:15 Discussion of the problem of criminalisation of solidarity: experiences and case studies with MEPs and civil society (a representative of SOS Méditerranée, Laura Renzi from Amnesty International Italia and Lorena Fornasir, migrants rights defender) Q&A with the public
1:30 pm	Lunch
3:30 pm - 5:30 pm	Workshop “Solidarity does not stop - restart from Riace” Part II The case of Riace and its perspectives Chair: Maurizio Del Bufalo (Naples Human Rights Film Festival) 3:30 Domenico Lucano presents the “Riace Model” - The history of the project (1998-2018) and its crisis 4:15 Speech by lawyer Andrea Daqua on the juridical aspects of the first degree sentence about Domenico Lucano 4:30 Testimonies from exponents of the world of culture and politics (Prof. Domenico Cersosimo UNICAL, Prof. Vito Teti UNICAL, On. Mario Oliverio, ex presidente Regione Calabria, Dott. Isidoro Napoli JIMUEL onlus, Dott. Giuseppe Panarello Univ.,Bocconi Milano) 5:20 - Salvatore Albanese (Comitato 11 giugno) illustrates the network of initiatives to support Riace project and Domenico Lucano 5:30 Closing of the workshop
6:00 pm	Guided tour of the laboratories and facilities of the Global Village
7:00 pm	Film screening Screening of “El cielo sobre Riace” by Damian Olivito (ARG, 2020, 80 minutes) with English subtitles
Saturday June 4
10:00 am	Civil society meeting Meeting with MEPs, NGOs, associations and humanitarian ships delegations to examine case studies