Italian court dropped charges against migrant human rights defenders in the “Iuventa” case
On 19 April 2024, an Italian court in Trapani dismissed the charges of "aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy" in the Iuventa case and acquitted twenty-one refugee and human rights defenders, along with three organisations, including Jugend Rettet, Save the Children, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The decision came after seven years of legal harassment following the seizure of the Iuventa search and rescue ship.
On 2 March 2021, the Trapani Prosecutor Office brought charges of “aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy” against 21 individuals, including four migrant rights defenders of the “Iuventa” search and rescue ship, and three organisations, including Save the Children and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). If convicted, the charges carry a possible sentence of 5-20 years imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros per person that was rescued during the search and rescue operations.
The Iuventa10 is a collective of crew members of the Iuventa ship, operating search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean sea, and the volunteers assisting them. Over the course of 16 missions, the Iuventa’s crew have assisted 175 boats and rescued 23,810 people, taking more than 14,000 people on board. The ship's crew and volunteers have treated 4,800 people for dehydration, circulatory failure, hypothermia, chemical burns and pregnancy complications, among many other issues. Since August 2017 the ship has been impounded in the port of Trapani, Sicily while its crew are facing criminal investigation. Iuventa10 was the recipient of the 2020 Amnesty International Germany Human Rights Award.
On 19 April 2024, an Italian court in Trapani dismissed the charges of "aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy" in the Iuventa case and acquitted twenty-one refugee and human rights defenders, along with three organisations, including Jugend Rettet, Save the Children, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The decision came after seven years of legal harassment following the seizure of the Iuventa search and rescue ship.
Iuventa is a collective of crew members of the Iuventa ship, operating search and rescue (SAR) missions in the Mediterranean Sea, and the volunteers assisting them. Iuventa has saved over 14,000 lives in the Mediterranean until it was seized by the Italian police on 2 August 2017.
On 28 February 2024, during the final phase of the preliminary hearings, in his closing arguments, the prosecutor asked for the termination of the proceedings, citing a lack of evidence of wrongdoing and existing doubts about the credibility of the witnesses. The preliminary hearings started on 21 May 2022.
On 2 March 2021, the Trapani Prosecutor's Office charged twenty-one refugee and human rights defenders and three organisations with “facilitating illegal entry” of migrants to Italy, based on three rescue operations that the Iuventa conducted between 2016 and 2017. In addition to the four crew members of the Iuventa and Jugend Rettet, the operating organisation of the rescue ship, seventeen crew members from two other rescue boats, "Vos Hestia" and "Vos Prudence," operated by Save the Children and MSF, respectively, also faced similar charges. Since 2 August 2017, when Italian authorities seized the Iuventa, crew members, including the captain and migrant rights defender Pia Klemp, have been under investigation. The accusations stemmed from three rescue operations in 2016 and 2017, following several NGOs' refusal to sign a restrictive 'code of conduct.'
Front Line Defenders welcomes the acquittal of the twenty-one refugee rights defenders after seven years of criminal proceedings. The politically motivated and evidenceless case put pressure not only on the members of the Iuventa collective but also on all human rights defenders working in solidarity with people on the move, fearing reprisals and legal persecution for their work.
Front Line Defenders calls for an end to the criminalisation of refugee and human rights defenders for their human rights work. It also asks Italian authorities to create a safe environment for human rights defenders who assist and help people on the move, without fear of legal or physical reprisals.
On 2 March 2021, the Trapani Prosecutor Office brought charges of “aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy” against 21 individuals, including four migrant rights defenders of the “Iuventa” search and rescue ship, and three organisations, including Save the Children and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). If convicted, the charges carry a possible sentence of 5-20 years imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros per person that was rescued during the search and rescue operations.
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Among those charged are four crew members of the “Iuventa” rescue ship. The “Iuventa” first began conducting search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean in July 2016 and has since saved more than an estimated 14,000 lives, with the support of over 200 volunteers at sea.
The charges were brought against the rescue boats following a three year investigation into search and rescue missions that occurred in 2016 and 2017. Besides the “Iuventa”, at least two other rescue boats are facing the same charges: “Vos Hestia”, operated by the humanitarian organisation Save the Children; and “Vos Prudence”, run by MSF.
On 20 June 2018, the Trapani Public Prosecutor’s Office notified ten of the “Iuventa” crew members of the ongoing investigation into the accusations against them of “aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy”.
The Italian authorities initially seized the “Iuventa” on 2 August 2017 and opened an investigation into its crew, including its captain and migrant rights defender Pia Klemp. The charges relate to three different rescue operations: the first on the 10 September 2016, and the second and third both occurring on 18 June 2017. The accusations that the boat and its crew had been complicit in smuggling were made after several search and rescue NGOs refused to sign a ‘code of conduct’ as they believed it would substantially limit their ability to carry out their search and rescue operations.
In its research project Forensic Oceanography, the Forensic Architecture research agency at Goldsmiths, University of London investigating human rights violations, conducted an investigation into the three search and rescue operations. It concluded that the “Iuventa” crew did not return empty boats to smugglers, as they were accused of having done. Nor do they appear to communicate with anyone potentially connected with smuggling networks, as the Italian authorities suggested they had”.
Concerns regarding the situation of migrant rights defenders in Italy and criminal investigations against NGO ships involved in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean were also expressed by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, and UN experts on numerous occasions, particularly in recent months.
Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned by the prosecution of migrant rights defenders as their cases are believed to be emblematic of the criminalisation of migrant rights defenders in Europe in reprisal for their peaceful and legitimate work, saving the lives of migrants in distress at sea. Front Line Defenders calls on the Italian authorities to immediately drop all charges against the migrant rights defenders.
