The Italian aviation authority ENAC is attempting to prevent the documentation of human rights violations in the Mediterranean. On Monday, the authority published an order banning the use of NGO aircraft over the Mediterranean. Sea-Watch is nevertheless continuing its monitoring flights and took off from Lampedusa airport shortly after 1 p.m. today.
March 2024: The so-called “Libyan Coast Guard”, armed by the EU and Italy, shoots at people who have fallen into the water and forces the SOS Humanity rescue ship with weapons to interrupt their rescue. March 2024: The Italian coast guard ignores a boat in distress for hours, in the end a merchant ship has to help, three people disappear in the sea. April 2024: Empty boats pile up in the Mediterranean – clear signs of illegal pullbacks by the so-called Libyan coastguard.
All of this is known because the EU, Italy and the so-called “Libyan Coast Guard” were not alone in the process. They were observed: From Sea-Watch’s civilian aerial monitoring aircraft Seabird 1 and 2. The organization regularly flies reconnaissance operations over the central Mediterranean and documents human rights violations.
The Italian aviation authority ENAC now wants to stop these monitoring flights. The authority reports to the Italian Ministry of Transport. On Monday, ENAC issued a decree threatening to detain aircraft in the event of non-compliance.
Regardless of the decree, Sea Watch has decided to continue its monitoring flights over the central Mediterranean. The Seabird 2 took off from Lampedusa airport shortly after 1pm today.
“The flight ban is politically motivated and legally untenable. In the middle of the European election campaign, Italy is trying to get rid of the last witnesses to European crimes in the Mediterranean. We will not be intimidated by this.”, says Oliver Kulikowski from Sea Watch.
The regulation is a clear attempt to exclude the public from the EU’s activities in the Mediterranean. Journalists from many major European media outlets have repeatedly used Sea-Watch reconnaissance flights in the past to document human rights crimes in the Mediterranean.
In an earlier version of this press release, we had mistakenly written that the order was issued on Tuesday. In fact, it was published on Monday. We apologize for this mistake.
