From Compassion to Crime shows how people who show solidarity with refugees—by rescuing them at sea, offering temporary shelter, or documenting their stories—are increasingly treated as criminals.

On Monday, 8 December 2025, the documentary From Compassion to Crime will be screened at Plantage Dok 8.
The event runs from 19:30 to 21:30 and includes a film screening, as well as pre- and post-screening discussions.

About the film

On 3 July 2025, the Dutch Parliament approved the Emergency Asylum Measures Act.
This law not only criminalises undocumented stay, but also assistance to people without papers.
What, for years, has happened mainly in Southern Europe—where volunteers, lawyers, and journalists have faced prosecution—now appears to be becoming a reality in the Netherlands as well.
See also: Verblijfblog – Verkiezingen 2025: Terugkeer en illegaliteit for updates on the criminalisation of undocumented stay.

The documentary follows several individuals who placed their humanity above regulations — and are now paying a high price for it.

Main protagonists

• Tommy Olsen (Aegean Boat Report)

A former childcare worker from Norway who runs a hotline for refugees at sea. His small NGO documents illegal pushbacks by the Greek Coast Guard. Because of this work, he is now accused of human smuggling and membership in a criminal organisation.

• Pieter Wittenberg

A skipper who could not ignore people drowning at sea. He offered assistance out of pure humanity until the Coast Guard and other services arrived. Yet Greece is prosecuting him for human smuggling and participation in a criminal organisation.

• Ingeborg Beugel

A Dutch journalist and long-time correspondent in Greece. She was prosecuted for her reporting on the treatment of refugees, and for offering temporary shelter to a young Afghan refugee. She was recently acquitted on appeal.

Their stories are not isolated cases.
In Bosnia and Bulgaria, aid workers are detained without trial; NGO rescue ships are seized; and even in Ter Apel, volunteers have been prosecuted for distributing food.

The central question

From Compassion to Crime raises a pressing question:
What does it say about our society when helping another human being becomes a criminal offence?

In 2023 alone, 117 Europeans were prosecuted for assisting refugees.
The film shows not just the numbers, but the faces and stories behind the criminalisation of solidarity.

Practical information

Location:
Plantage Dok — Plantage Doklaan 8, Amsterdam

Date:
Monday, 8 December 2025

Time:
19:30 – 21:30
(including pre- and post-screening discussions)

The film will be screened with English subtitles.

Tickets:
Available via Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/screening-documentaire-from-compassion-to-crime-tickets-1970226837508?aff=oddtdtcreator

About the filmmaker

From Compassion to Crime is the documentary debut of Stanzen Leh Jelsma.
The film investigates how acts of solidarity in Europe — and now also in the Netherlands — are increasingly being criminalised.
It is an urgent documentary that touches at the heart of current debates about justice, humanity, and solidarity.

Press & Contact

For additional information, images, or interview requests:
stanzen.jelsma.media@gmail.com