Fair Trials is the global criminal justice watchdog, campaigning for fairness, equality and justice

On Thursday 1 and on Friday 2 October, the High-Level Forum on the Future of EU Criminal Justice will hold its third plenary meeting with the intention of shaping the agenda for the EU’s future action on criminal justice after two meetings in March and May 2025. The European Commission will subsequently publish a report summarising the conclusions of this process.

Being next in the queue, I flipped open my passport. My stomach dropped. The same red pen mark. I could not think of an explanation. In any case, it was too late. We were taken into an interrogation room, still completely unaware that we were under arrest. Our agent, who had handled all our paperwork and was assisting with the border crossing that day, seemed locked in an argument with the officials. They spoke in Thai. The only explanation I could think of was that the Immigration Officer at the Laos border, issuing the original visa, must have stamped the wrong date and tried to correct it himself.