Italian authorities have seized the "Iuventa" which is operated by the German charity "Jugend Rettet" over allegations volunteers had contact with Libyan smugglers. Prosecutors in Trapani said an investigation started in October had uncovered evidence suggesting that the "Iuventa" was used “to aid and abet illegal immigration”. The vessel was seized on the island of Lampedusa on Aug 2 after it was ordered to take rescued migrants to shore there and its crew have been interviewed by police. Ambrogio Cartosio, a public prosecutor from Trapani, said there was evidence some members had contact with smugglers during one incident in September and two others in June. The prosecutor alleged that migrants were “handed over” to the "Iuventa" by smugglers rather than being “rescued”, and later transferred to other ships to be taken ashore in Italy. Police searched the ship under warrant before taking charge of it and sailing it to Sicily. But the prosecutor stressed that there was no evidence of Jugend Rettet receiving any money from Libyan traffickers and no indication of a wider conspiracy between the two groups – a favourite theory of the European far-right. “My personal conviction was that the motive is humanitarian, exclusively humanitarian. It would be fantasy to say there was a coordinated plan between the NGOs and the Libyan traffickers.”, he said. Images released by Italian police appeared to show a RIB from the "Iuventa" towing an empty wooden boat into Libyan waters on June 18, with volunteers later coming in close proximity to a boat containing smugglers removing the engine from a dinghy packed with migrants. Smugglers were again filmed in close proximity to the "Iuventa" on June 26 as part of the Italian investigation. Jugend Rettet, which has refused to sign a controversial code of conduct for rescue ships, said it sailed to Lampedusa under instruction from Italian authorities after rescuing migrants from a boat in distress. “As it happened during other stops at this port, the crew was questioned by the local police, which also entered the ship,” it said in a statement. It was the first time Italian police have seized a humanitarian boat, following months of mounting tensions over claims NGOs are aiding or even directly colluding with Libyan smugglers. NGOs have been appearing before an Italian parliamentary committee looking into allegations of collusion, where Mr Cartosio announced his suspicions in May and said some rescuers appeared to know where to locate migrant boats in advance. Charities have repeatedly rejected the charges, saying they are deployed by the Rome-based Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to aid in the search and rescue zone in international waters off Libya. The suspicions resulted in Italy drawing up a “code of conduct” for humanitarian ships, but only three of the eight organisations active in the central Mediterranean have so far signed it.
WORLD SHIPPING
04 August 2017 - 00:00
Update: 04 August 2017 - 10:56
Ship seized for alleged contact with Libyan smugglers
Ship seized for alleged contact with Libyan smugglers
WORLD SHIPPING
04 August 2017 - 00:00
Update: 04 August 2017 - 10:56
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