Italian authorities have fined NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) €3,330 and detained its ship the Geo Barents for 60 days after it brought 191 migrants to Italy.
The vessel reached the port of Salerno on August 26 carrying migrants from Libya. It was then boarded by the Italian State Police, together with the military police force Guardia di Finanza and the local Port Authority.
As in previous cases, the NGO was accused of repeatedly having violated the Cutro decree (also known as the “Piantedosi law”) by not communicating with the Italian authorities regarding safety at sea during rescue operations.
Italy approved the Cutro decree, named after a deadly shipwreck in February 2023 in which more than 90 people died, to bring illegal migration down and try to ensure similar accidents would not happen.
Doctors Without Borders reacted angrily to the move by the Italian Government, calling it “arbitrary and inhumane”.
This evening, #Italian authorities informed @MSF team that our rescue ship, #GeoBarents, has been issued a detention order for a period of 60 days.
This is the 3rd time our ship has been subject to such a punitive measure for performing its legal obligation to save lives at sea. pic.twitter.com/9Cpl8hoRMT
— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) August 26, 2024
On the morning of August 26, the Geo Barents docked in Salerno, bringing in 191 migrants picked up in five “rescue operations”.
Among those on board were three women and 23 unaccompanied minors. One person reportedly had difficulty walking and was transported in a wheelchair.
The Geo Barents is among the largest civilian ships operating in the central Mediterranean.
NGO Sea-Watch also criticised the detainment. “The Geo Barents ship of Doctors Without Borders is blocked in port for 60 days by the Italian authorities with the absurd accusation of having violated the so-called Piantedosi law.
“Any excuse is good to block the NGOs and prevent them from saving those lives that Italy and the European Union would like at the bottom of the sea, locked up … abandoned in the desert.”
Illegal migration from the Mediterranean to Italy has dropped by 62 per cent in the first seven months of this year, according to figures from the Italian interior ministry. https://t.co/9OYbGNJ0rB
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 2, 2024
