The case of Fatmata, a 23-year-old woman from Sierra Leone who was shot dead at the border between Greece and North Macedonia
24.5.2023
Question for written answer E-001631/2023
to the Commission
Rule 138
Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Damien Carême (Verts/ALE), Giuliano Pisapia (S&D), Clare Daly (The Left), Mick Wallace (The Left), Maria Arena (S&D), Pierre Larrouturou (S&D), Patrizia Toia (S&D), Thijs Reuten (S&D), Daniela Rondinelli (S&D), Dietmar Köster (S&D), Camilla Laureti (S&D), Francisco Guerreiro (Verts/ALE), Karen Melchior (Renew), Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Verts/ALE), Pina Picierno (S&D), Pietro Bartolo (S&D), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Massimiliano Smeriglio (S&D), Beatrice Covassi (S&D), Franco Roberti (S&D)
Fatmata was a 23-year-old woman who was shot dead by North Macedonian police at the border between Greece and North Macedonia on 19 April 2023. She was travelling from Sierra Leone with her husband. The couple lived in a Greek refugee camp before being denied asylum in Greece. They therefore left Greece and entered North Macedonia. Just after they crossed the border, a police officer shot Fatmata.
Fatmata’s husband was present when Fatmata was shot. He asked to be taken to the hospital with his dying wife, but was instead detained for a day, without news of his wife. The police then offered to drop him at the Serbian border so that he could leave North Macedonia. He refused and is now seeking justice through the North Macedonian courts.
Given that North Macedonia is an EU candidate country and should cooperate in the management of migratory flows, and given that Frontex launched a joint operation in the country the next day:
- 1.What is the Commission doing to guarantee that migrants’ human are respected at European borders?
- 2.How are bilateral relations with North Macedonia evolving under the Stabilisation and Association Process with regard to migration management and equal access to the justice system for everyone?
Submitted: 24.5.2023