Over the weekend, we witnessed not only an illegal and violent pullback by the so-called Libyan coastguard, but once again the inaction of European states. Not even a woman giving birth was enough to prompt the Italian authorities to rescue people stranded on an oil platform.
Last Saturday, Alarm Phone alerted European authorities: a group of people had become stranded on the abandoned Didon oil platform. Their dinghy had shipwrecked, leaving them without food or water.
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One of the women gave birth on the platform. In the night between Saturday and Sunday, the platform was finally reached by Astral, the ship operated by the civilian sea rescue organization Open Arms. The crew rescued 54 people, including two small children and two infants—one just two weeks old, the other only two days old.
Once again, Italy and Europe ignored a call for help.
The next day, Sunday, June 8, our crew witnessed an illegal pullback carried out by the armed so-called Libyan coastguard. Frontex had flown over the distress case beforehand, yet we heard no Mayday call. The so-called Libyan coastguard attempted to stop the boat, carrying around 20 people, with life-threatening maneuvers. Armed with a Kalashnikov, they chased the group until 15 people, in desperation, jumped into the water.
In the end, all of them were forced onto the militia vessel, funded by Europe. While they may have survived the dangers at sea, they are now likely imprisoned—facing conditions where violence, torture, and rape are routine.
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These ongoing human rights violations are funded and enabled by the European Union. We strongly condemn the deliberate endangerment of human lives and call for an end to Fortress Europe!
