2024-09-11 16:38:30
The rescue ship of Doctors Without Borders in the Mediterranean (MSF), the Geo Barentswhich has been in port in the port of Salerno since August 25 with a two-month ban on going to sea, can go again. A judge in a court in this city accepted MSF’s appeal this Thursday and suspended the administrative precautionary measure, pending a hearing to be held in November. Amidst the tension between the right-wing government of Giorgia Meloni and NGOs that help boats from North Africa in the Mediterranean, MSF has been suspended after being accused of failing to comply with Italian regulations. . The purpose was to rescue 37 people from the sea without informing them in advance about the operation, August 23.
The judge – who has not yet ruled on the accusation itself – nevertheless dealt a serious blow to the authorities by insisting that the prohibition of the ship in the port means “an imminent danger of great damage and irresponsibility”, because it affects on the right of Geo Barents to do their relief work at sea. He said: “An activity that is associated with the pursuit of humanitarian goals that are undoubtedly worthwhile.” Exin honor of the system of constitutional values and international law of culture which Italy adheres to and which it is also called to promote.”
MSF’s ship has already been blocked on two other occasions, although it was for 20 days on both occasions, and its pleas were not accepted. It is the first time this has happened, the decision came hours after a press conference by an NGO to denounce the situation to the international press. “We went out to Sicily, and as soon as we are ready, maybe on Sunday, we will be saved again,” testified the head of the organization’s operations in the center of the Mediterranean, Ricardo Martínez of Spain. “We are crying with emotion.” So far, of the 25 freezing orders issued against NGO ships in the past 20 months, in application of the new Government regulations, judges have suspended the measure in only three cases.
MSF, which denies the allegations, has explained about the rescue under investigation that was reported to the authorities nine minutes later, because the people found in a boat had entered the nearby water their vehicle and, in the face of an emergency, the immediate action team. In any case, the organization added, they had already informed the Libyan coast guard of the discovery of the boat, with which they had coordinated two other rescues hours before. In total, they saved 197 people. But when they returned to the port, they found an order that did not allow them to sail again.
The judges of Salerno, waiting to carefully analyze all the materials provided, already said after the first viewing of the videos recorded by MSF in the operation, that “it seems to exclude that the ship, without contributing to the creation any dangerous situation on board, is busy in urgent rescue operations for shipwrecked people”, and the Libyan coast guard was informed about this.
These frequent clashes with the law are reshaping the work of migrant rescue NGOs in Italy, which have taken in 170,000 people in the past 10 years. However, since December 2022 they have been harassed by the harsh policies of the Meloni Authority, which has limited their activities considerably. The organizations and the European Commission also said that the measures of the so-called Piantedosi order (named after the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi), are against international law.
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MSF has appealed before the Italian Court, which has not yet ruled, the prohibition of going to the nearest port after a rescue and having to go to one chosen by the authorities, usually four or more days traveling in northern Italy, in the fields. like Genoa or Ravenna. The law also requires ships to report each rescue and request permission in advance to do so and to do one at a time. They must return to port once they are finished and cannot help other ships. NGOs that fail to comply with the rules risk fines of up to 50,000 euros and a fourth ban of the vessel, even seizure. MSF, like other organizations, is already facing its third mandate.
One of the cases that shows the crude confrontation between Italian far-right parties and NGOs reached an end this Saturday. This is the investigation against Matteo Salvini, the current Vice President of the Government and Minister of Infrastructure, accused of kidnapping people and abuse of authority for preventing in 2019, when he was the head of the interior, the departure of 162 immigrants of he was rescued by a Spanish ship. Open Sections in Lampedusa. After three years of investigation, the prosecutor will announce his decisions this Saturday (“I risk three or 15 years in prison,” Salvini protested), and October 18 will be the last hearing, before the announcement of the sentence .
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