1/ Dozens were lost at Melilla's Barrio Chino border crossing on 24 June, but why?
Today @LHreports & partners release an investigation reconstructing the event, making use of a detailed 3d model of the crossing. In this thread, I'll break down our development & use of the model
2/ Since the summer, we have been working with @el_pais@derspiegel@lemondefr@EnassMedia on this investigation on this horrific day on the Spanish/Moroccan border over the summer
3/ Step one in our investigation was archiving visual evidence. We collected 100+ videos from open source channels and received unpublished material from press & private sources.
Over several months, we geolocated the clips and sequenced them chronologically.
1/ Why did the bodies of two men - Sidy & Didier - wash up along the Turkish coast days after multiple sources arrived with them alive on the Greek island of Samos? This THREAD unpacks the methods behind our months-long investigation into their death & pushback. #OSINT
2/ Evidence suggests that they drowned after being thrown overboard by the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG). The 2 men were thrown into the water along with 1 other person who survived - Ibrahim - whose testimony was the starting point for our investigation.
3/ There were no additional witnesses or recordings of the deaths, so we first focused on verifying Ibrahim's testimony. Through relatives, group-members + other sources we got testimonies, images, video, & audio of the events prior to the deaths.
1/ For years, the EU's most violent pushbacks have been conducted by men in balaclava. We spent months investigating - who are the masked men? This THREAD unpacks our investigation's findings & methods on pushbacks from Croatia, Romania, and Greece borders
3/ Our team recorded 14 pushbacks across EU borders, showing 189 people pushed back by 42 officers. We collected further evidence through OSINT, whistleblowers, and official reports. First up, let's focus on Croatia, where we recorded 11 pushbacks