Following the rescue of 56 people from distress at sea in international waters on March 6, Italian authorities have detained the Sea-Watch 5 for 20 days. Previously, a 17-year-old boy died on board after Italy, Malta, and Tunisia refused to evacuate him. 4 other people in critical condition were only brought to the Italian mainland after 9 hours. The remaining 51 people and the body of the boy were landed in Pozzallo, Sicily, on March 8 after political and media pressure. The authorities had previously assigned Ravenna, over 1500 kilometers away, as the port of safety.
March 6: During the rescue of 56 people from an overcrowded wooden boat, crew members discovered several people below deck, four of whom were unconscious. A 17-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest on board the Sea-Watch 5 and was initially resuscitated. At 15:05 UTC, he had to be pronounced dead by the doctors on board. As early as 13:00 UTC, the crew of the Sea-Watch urged the relevant authorities to evacuate the patient and three more rescued people medically. All coastal states were alerted, but neither Italy, Malta, nor Tunisia initiated an evacuation or took over the coordination.
After landing the remaining 51 survivors, Italian authorities detained the Sea-Watch 5 on the evening of March 8. The reasons given by the authorities are false: Sea-Watch did not disobey the instructions of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, but rather, the Libyan ship Fezzan repeatedly failed to respond to radio contact while bringing dozens of people from another distress case on board to tow them back to Libya forcibly. The Tunisian authorities repeatedly addressed by Sea-Watch did not speak English at first, then denied any responsibility for a medical evacuation and ordered us to contact Italy.
Only in mid-February did the Italian Supreme Court of Appeal confirm that so-called pushbacks to Libya are illegal under international law. UN experts speak of the involvement of Libyan authorities in crimes against humanity against people on the move.
Oliver Kulikowski, Sea-Watch spokesperson: “The detention of the Sea-Watch 5 is a purely political maneuver. Italy seems to be using any means to divert attention from its failure to provide assistance.”
