At least 142 people were prosecuted in 2024 for helping or rescuing migrants across Europe, a report by a group defending migrants' rights warned on Tuesday.

According to the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), more than 80 people have faced prosecution for saving or aiding migrants at sea and around 20 for providing them with water, food or clothing.

"This is the fourth year in a row" the number of people prosecuted has risen, Silvia Carta of PICUM said, criticising the "criminalisation of solidarity with migrants".

The report focuses on incidents in Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Malta and Poland, and was compiled using various sources including European media.

"What we're able to monitor is just the tip of the iceberg," Carta said.

The organisation refers to one incident during which seven Basque activists were accused of taking advantage of a race to smuggle 36 migrants across the border between Spain and France in March 2024. Their trial is due to start in early October.

The report also mentions five people who face imprisonment in Poland for "providing humanitarian aid" to migrants on the border with Belarus.