ROME: Italy’s anti-immigrant interior minister accused a German charity on Thursday of ignoring coast guard orders when its Dutch-flagged ship picked up 226 migrants off Libya’s coast and he said they should be taken to the Netherlands not Italy.
Earlier this month Matteo Salvini pledged to no longer let charity ships offload rescued migrants in Italy, leaving the Gibraltar-flagged Aquarius stranded at sea for several days with more than 600 migrants until Spain offered them safe haven.
On Thursday, Mission Lifeline, a charity based in Dresden, Germany, pulled migrants off two rubber boats in international waters even though it was told by Italy that Libya’s coast guard was coming to get them, a spokesman for the charity said. They would not have been safe if taken back to Libya, he said.
Salvini, also leader of the anti-immigrant League party, addressed the charity in a Facebook video: “You have intentionally not listened to Italian or Libyan authorities. Good. Then take this load of human beings to the Netherlands.”
International maritime guidelines say that people rescued at sea should be taken to the nearest “place of safety.”
The United Nations and other humanitarian agencies do not deem Libya “a place of safety” because they say migrants there are subject to indefinite detention, physical abuse, forced labor and extortion.
A Lifeline statement indicated its vessel was heading northwards with the 226 migrants and called on “the competent authorities to swiftly react according to their obligation to designate a place of safety.”
“They have a Dutch flag, but they are not registered in the Netherlands, and therefore are not under Dutch state flag responsibility,” Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Lennart Wegewijs said in response, without elaborating.
Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said he had asked the coast guard to investigate state flag issue.
Lifeline spokesman Axel Steier said the migrants aboard its boat included 14 women and four small children. “We didn’t want to wait for the Libyan coast guard because people were in danger,” Steier told Reuters.
Waiting for the Libyans would have constituted allowing “an illegal pushback” of refugees to a country where they are not safe, he added.
With its hard line on rescue boats, Italy’s new populist government has thrust migration back onto the European Union agenda. Italy has seen more than 640,000 land on its shores since 2014 and is currently sheltering 170,000 asylum seekers.
Germany is also seeking to restrict asylum-seekers’ movement in the bloc. An emergency “mini-summit” has been called for Brussels on Sunday to discuss immigration ahead of a full, 28-state EU summit on June 28-29.
Toninelli, who oversees Italy’s ports and coast guard, had called last weekend on the Netherlands to recall Lifeline and another Dutch-flagged ship, Seefuchs. On Thursday, Toninelli said Lifeline was acting “outside of international law.”
“The transport minister is lying,” Steier shot back. “We always act in line with international law. Always.”
Salvini has denounced the charity ships as “deputy traffickers,” suggesting they profit from the rescues.
Earlier this week a tribunal in Palermo shelved an inquiry into whether German charity Sea Watch and Spain’s Proactiva Open Arms were in contact with smugglers, saying no evidence was found.
Italy tells rescue ship to take migrants to the Netherlands
Italy tells rescue ship to take migrants to the Netherlands
- Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini: “You have intentionally not listened to Italian or Libyan authorities. Good. Then take this load of human beings to the Netherlands.”
- Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Lennart Wegewijs: “They have a Dutch flag, but they are not registered in the Netherlands, and therefore are not under Dutch state flag responsibility.”
UN experts concerned by treatment of Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers
- Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged offences connected to the group have taken part in the protest
LONDON: UN human rights experts have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners linked to Palestine Action who have been on hunger strike while on remand, warning it may breach the UK’s international human rights obligations.
Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged offences connected to the group have taken part in the protest, reported The Guardian on Friday.
Among them are Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, who were on hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield from Nov. 2 to Dec. 23, and Heba Muraisi, held at HMP New Hall. Others include Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, who has refused food on alternate days due to diabetes.
Zuhrah and Gib temporarily resumed eating this week because of deteriorating health but said they plan to resume the hunger strike next year, according to Prisoners for Palestine.
In a statement issued on Friday, UN special rapporteurs, including Gina Romero and Francesca Albanese, said the handling of the prisoners was alarming.
“Hunger strike is often a measure of last resort by people who believe that their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted. The state’s duty of care toward hunger strikers is heightened, not diminished,” they said.
Three of the prisoners were in hospital at the same time on Sunday, with Ahmed admitted on three occasions since the hunger strike began.
The experts said: “Authorities must ensure timely access to emergency and hospital care when clinically indicated, refrain from actions that may amount to pressure or retaliation, and respect medical ethics.”
Prisoners for Palestine has alleged that prison staff initially denied ambulance access for Zuhrah during a medical emergency last week, with hospital treatment only provided after protesters gathered outside the prison.
“These reports raise serious questions about compliance with international human rights law and standards, including obligations to protect life and prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the experts said, adding: “Preventable deaths in custody are never acceptable. The state bears full responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of those it detains. Urgent action is required now.”
Families and supporters have called for a meeting with Justice Secretary David Lammy, while lawyers claim the Ministry of Justice has failed to follow its own policy on handling hunger strikes.
Government officials are understood to be concerned about the prisoners’ condition but cautious about setting a wider precedent.
