Aegean Boat Report is saddened, angered, and — unfortunately — not surprised to report the latest escalation by the Greek government in its attempts to silence our work documenting human rights violations in the Aegean Sea.
Earlier today, Wednesday 11 February 2026, Aegean Boat Report founder Tommy Olsen was contacted by Norwegian police and informed that they have received a European Arrest Warrant issued by Greece.
Tommy has not yet received the warrant itself and may not do so until any formal arrest procedure takes place. According to information provided by authorities, the accusations include human trafficking and facilitating human trafficking. The warrant further alleges that he is running a criminal organization, Aegean Boat Report, and is part of a criminal network that receives information from people attempting to enter Greece irregularly and forwards their details and location to Greek authorities so they can enter the asylum procedure.
These allegations are entirely false.
Tommy Olsen states:
“I have done absolutely nothing wrong. This is the deliberate targeting of a human rights defender with the aim of intimidation and silence. We have seen these tactics before. First a national arrest warrant, now a European one — still without evidence, still without basis in reality.”
Aegean Boat Report was founded in 2015 and has since become a widely recognised independent monitoring organisation documenting maritime arrivals, distress situations, and human rights violations in the Aegean Sea. Since 2019, our reporting has consistently documented the systematic use of violent pushbacks by Greek authorities.
Our work has been publicly supported by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, and by Amnesty International, both of whom have previously expressed concern about the criminalisation of our activities.
Aegean Boat Report rejects, in the strongest possible terms, the Greek government’s claim that Tommy Olsen — or Aegean Boat Report — is part of any criminal organisation.
We do not assist people in crossing from Türkiye to Greece, and we never have. Our work is limited to monitoring, documenting, and communicating with authorities when people in distress or newly arrived are located, so that they can access the asylum procedures guaranteed under international and European law.
In other words, the alleged “crime” is informing authorities about people who have already arrived in Greece so they can be processed legally and safely.
This is not criminal activity. It is the protection of life, transparency, and the rule of law.
The Greek government has threatened Aegean Boat Report with legal action for nearly four years. The issuance of a European Arrest Warrant represents a serious escalation and an attempt to extend this pressure beyond Greece’s borders.
We believe these actions are politically motivated and intended to silence independent reporting that exposes unlawful practices at Europe’s maritime borders.
When the case proceeds, we are fully prepared to defend our work in court. We are confident that the facts will demonstrate that Aegean Boat Report has always acted lawfully, responsibly, and in defence of fundamental human rights.
We will not be intimidated into silence.
We will continue to document what happens in the Aegean Sea.
We will continue to ensure that people in distress are not invisible.
And we will continue to hold authorities accountable when the law is broken.
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Media contact:
Tommy Olsen
Aegean Boat Report
contact@aegeanboatreport.com