The Geo Barents ship of the NGO Doctors Without Borders docked this morning in the port of Taranto after having rescued a total of 85 people, 41 in a first rescue and 44 during a transfer from a merchant ship.
It is the first vessel of a non-governmental organization to disembark migrants in Italy after the approval of the decree which requires them to reach the port of disembarkation indicated by the SAR authorities “without delay”, and – in the case of multiple rescues – establishes that subsequent the first must not compromise the agreed timescales.
The penalties for those who do not respect the law range from administrative fines between 10,000 and 50,000 euros to administrative detention of the vessel for up to 2 months.
Juan Matias Gil, Médecins Sans Frontières head of mission, told theHandle which excludes the possibility of a kidnapping: “There is no valid reason. We are spending more money on lawyers than on search and rescue. It’s a paradox, it’s ridiculous. We are saving lives and we are consulting the lawyers to contest every measure, every new rule to see if this is in line with the legislation, including international ones”.
Gil maintains that the assistance “was requested and coordinated by the Italian authorities”: “Therefore, there is no reason for the kidnapping and for any type of sanction”. Both rescue operations were completed at the request of the IMRCC (Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre).
Interviewed on Radio Anch’io, the MSF head of mission specified: “The new rules on NGO ships are in contradiction with international law. When there is an open case, for all commanders there is the obligation, not the option, to intervene in the emergency to safeguard people’s lives”.
In the next few hours it will be necessary to see how the Ministry of the Interior will evaluate the behavior of the ship’s crew: unlike the provisions of the decree, in fact, no request for political asylum was signed on board. The migrants have been informed about their rights, but they will decide whether to forward the application to the Police Headquarters.
In the hopes of Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, having the requests completed on board would have meant making the State whose flag the ship flies responsible for examining the request for international protection and possible repatriation.
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