On 1 March 2021, an Italian prosecutor in Trapani closed a lengthy investigation into the work of civil rescuers in the Mediterranean Sea. Charged with “aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy”, 21 members of the charities Jugend Rettet, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders face trial. Among them are members of the civil rescue ship, Iuventa, who have helped rescue more than 14,000 people in distress. The crew, known as the ‘Iuventa10’, have been under investigation since August 2017, following the seizure of the ship at the port of Lampedusa. If found guilty, they could face considerable time in prison.
The allegations against the maritime activists rest in part on evidence collected by a secret recording device placed on the Iuventa, wiretapped phones, as well as statements of employees of a private security company who had been employed as security guards on another civil rescue ship, the Vos Hestia, chartered by Save the Children. Pietro Gallo, one of the private security agents who passed information on to AISE, the Italian intelligence service, and to Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-Right Lega party, later regretted his involvement and suggested that the allegations against the rescuers were unfounded. The Italian prosecutor’s case is also informed by an undercover police officer installed among the private security guards on the Vos Hestia.
The Iuventa10, who have received international recognition and human rights awards for their life-saving work, deny all allegations of collaboration with smugglers. They regard the investigation in Italy as an act of ‘lawfare’, the misuse of existing laws to further Europe’s anti-migrant policies and to criminalise and intimidate humanitarian rescuers. In a statement, the activists claim the charges are “a political declaration of intent to criminalise solidarity”. As one of Iuventa10’s lawyers told me, “Instead of sea rescuers being charged for saving lives, Italian and European politicians should be charged with crimes against humanity. It is really the world upside down, and we will make it right.”
