Incident with the Libyan Coast Guard on 26.09.2017 – NGO deception & facilitation of illegal  immigration

The first discovered wooden boat on 26.09.17 at no time was in danger of sinking or in any type of marine distress. The boat was seaworthy and equipped with a fully functional engine and simply called for “pick up” in a prearranged area. The migrants did not show any medical emergency requiring an assistance or transfer to another vessel as required by the international law and rescue at sea. (see “Lifeline” photos). The weather condition at the time: sea state – light breeze, weather – clear.

The boat was recovered in Libyan contiguous zone only 22,3 NM from the shore (confirmed by the Libyan Coast Guard – see map). Subsequently all migrants were illegally transferred on board the NGO vessel MV “Lifeline” (EU Council Directive 2002/90/EC). Later the boat was pro forma destroyed (burnt). 

What followed was a legal intervention of the Libyan Coast Guard and its vessel the LCG “Talil” (267).

The LCG vessel approached the MV “Lifeline” trying to establish repeatedly a radio contact to no avail. The Captain Friedhold Ulonska refused to communicate with the LCG vessel issuing instead an emergency call on “Chanel 16” asking for assistance. 

Repeated  calls by the LCG vessel to stop engines and an attempt at verbal communication with the captain were also left unanswered! 

The captain’s reckless and life endangering stance led ultimately to a single warning shot and boarding of the MV “Lifeline” by an unarmed LCG officer.  During boarding a heated altercation ensued between LCG officer and “Lifeline” crew member. The LCG officer demanded the return of illegal migrants. The crew vehemently refused to comply with this demand. After an unsuccessful verbal persuasion the LCG officer simply returned onboard the LCG “Talil”. 

During the incident, at no time did the Libyan Coast Guard “attack” or “shoot at” the  MV “Lifeline as claimed by the German NGOs. These claims are simply untrue!

The entire procedure was conducted in full accordance of the international law and standard rules of engagement practiced by any law enforcement agency at sea (see Coast Guard rules of engagement).

(*) According to international law responsible government agencies have the right to stop & board any foreign vessel suspected of immigration infractions UNCLOS’82  Art. 33. 

Screenshots of photos published by the German NGO “Mission Lifeline e.V.” on Twitter showing the “pick up”.

The “Fake News”  

The German NGO provided in local press a “fictive narrative” of the incident in the hope of gathering a large media resonance and at the same time financial support of the public. Some of the headlines: “Dresden men rescue hundreds in Mediterranean and get shot at”, “Coast Guard shooting at Lifeline” and “Soldiers shoot at Saxonian refugee helpers”. (SIC!) Very similar pattern & narrative was used by another German NGO the “Sea Watch e.V.” during their incident with the LCG on 10.05 2017.

The man behind the deception

A known far-left & “no border” activist. In 2015 co-founded an initiative “Dresden Balkan Konvoi” in support of NGOs & migrants in Idomeni camp (Greece). On 23.06.2017 Mr. Axel Steier was summoned by the German Federal Police Inspectorate being accused of “attempted smuggling of illegal aliens into the country”. His first brush with the law in conjunction with facilitation of illegal immigration.

The vessel  MV “Lifeline”

The MV LIFELINE (Ex- SEA WATCH 2), MMSI 244870698, GT 231, length 32 meters, built 1968, flag Netherlands. Jointly operated by NGO: German “Mission Lifeline e.V.” and Spanish “PROEM-AID”

Source:
* Interview with Libyan Coast Guard – 26.09.2017* Twitter & Facebook: Mission Lifeline e.V. https://twitter.com/SEENOTRETTUNG* Twitter Proem-Aid: https://twitter.com/proemaid* United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf* EU Council Directive 2002/90/EC: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/legislation-and-case-law-eu-legislation-migration-law/council-directive-200290ec_en
* 29.09.2017 – Tagblatt: “On Tuesday Friedhold Ulonska the captain of  ‘Lifeline’ dealt with Libyans” / “Friedhold Ulonska bekam es am Dienstag als Kapitän der ‘Lifeline’ mit den Libyern zu tun”:  http://www.tagblatt.de/Nachrichten/Friedhold-Ulonska-bekam-es-am-Dienstag-als-Kapitaen-der-Lifeline-mit-den-Libyern-zu-tun-348112.html* 01.07.2017 – Sachsen Depesche: “Sea rescuers under investigation” / “Ermittlungen gegen Seenotretter “: https://www.sachsen-depesche.de/politik/mission-lifeline-justiz-ermittelt-gegen-axel-steier-und-sascha-pietsch.html

Interview with the security officer from ‘Save The Children’ ship: “A system of contracts worth millions that is also based on omertà (code of honor) agreement”

Quotidiano

By Giorgio Caccamo

11 August 2017

The former police officer Lucio M. speaks out: “What rescues? It’s all business. We have never saved anyone who was dying. It seemed more like a race for them and who comes first”.

The testimony of a ship’s security officer from ‘Vos Hestia’ of the well-known NGO ‘Save the Children’ who was interviewed by the daily national “QN” explaining the great bluff behind organizations that say they are rescuing so-called migrants trying to reach our shores.

How long were you on board? What was your position?

“I stayed just over a month, between September and October 2016. I was charged with the security on ‘Vos Hestia'”.

What did you see during the rescue at sea?

“Let’s face the truth: few were in life’s danger. Once we took a boat with people in good health 10 minutes from the Libyan coast and not far out at sea. This was the explicit wish from the ‘Save the Children’ in London while all other European offices were opposed to it”.

Other inconsistencies?

“I remember we had a good British cultural liaison who spoke Arabic. At some point he left the ship and in his place came an Italian-Eritrean young man. Does it matter? Yes, it does. Two days later a boat full of Eritreans arrived and it was the STC (Save the Children ) team leader who gave the captain the exact position of the boat”.

Are there comparisons with other NGOs?

“It seemed like a race and who comes first. For me it was a strange attitude. The ‘Iuventa’ (ship of the German NGO ‘Jugend Rettet’) is too small, so it was understood that they will play a supporting role. Once we were in the Libyan waters with other NGOs and no rubber boats were seen. Then one day calls the ‘Iuventa’ and says ‘we have 400 people on board’. But in five days we didn’t see anyone! And then if you load all those people, can you tell me where the boats are? It means that the traffickers have delivered them”.

So there are relationships between some organizations and traffickers?

“They are obvious. Often is the trafficker who gives the position with a satellite phone and certainly not the migrants. When there is an inflatable boat with dozens of people on board it seems as though they have made an appointment…”

No NGOs can be excluded?

“Perhaps some people could be genuinely animated by a humanitarian spirit. But this talk of going to the Libyan coast is neither here nor there. Thousands of people aided only 20-25% perhaps were worthy of help”.

And who were the others?

“We loaded young Maghrebs who were expelled from Italy. For them this was the only way to try to come back. But who am I to say who we going to bring to Italy? We did not bring desperate Syrians or those of Mali who run from hunger. Personally, it was a problem of consciousness for me”.

Did you feel responsible for the situation that was bigger than you?

“I also felt a little complicit with a shameful activity which I could not tolerate. There were clashes with STC because I could not report anything to the port authorities or police. The sense of their politics seemed to be ‘keep everything hidden’. We couldn’t even warn the MSF (Doctors Without Borders) that a boy on board had a serious form of tuberculosis.”

How did they treat outsiders?

“Yes, it was palpable, they did not want us on board but the ship’s owner insisted. I don’t know if I can use these words, but we Italians were a bit shitty for them… I know the ones who were still on board they tried to replace them with an English team”.

Do you think ultimately everything is reduces to a business?

“I’ve been in the police for 30 years, I know what’s going on – you always need to follow the money trail. I would like to know how much money did the Ministry of Interior give to STC? Why is this not addressed? On board I was told that the transactions were running at half a million per month, 6 million EURO a year, only for Save the Children. And this money comes from institutions. STC also receives many donations, I imagine millions of dollars at no cost. Regarding this I have a personal idea…”

Which is?

“The NGOs don’t give a hoot about migrants. It’s only a business of the moment. I will not hide that there is also some fear of speaking out”.

What are you afraid of?

“We were threatened. Me and my other colleagues have worked really hard in a stressful and demanding situation. Then we said ‘enough’, one could not go on. You see too much dirt”.

What exactly?

“I remember a support operation for ‘Iuventa’. There were 140 migrants. Shortly before our arrival a boat with two Libyans sped off with another boat in tow. I wasn’t the only one that saw it. The entire ship, the captain, the STC operators. But nobody says anything, this really pisses me off”.

Why don’t they say anything?

“Well, because if the captain would say anything, those who sign the contract with Save the Children would lose money. Last year the Dutch ship’s owner ‘Vroon’ with headquarters in Genoa, Italy stayed for four months in Alexandria, Egypt. They told me that they don’t have work! And then a contract rains from the sky for 500 thousand Euro per month… They can’t risk losing it”.

Is there a political other than economic aspect?

Do you know what really displeased the Save the Children? The fact that the ship is Italian. They would prefer to have an English crew but instead were forced to take an Italian doctor and us as a security which de facto made us ‘security advisors'”.

How do you feel about your experience?

“It’s a gamble. But still I will reveal what I’ve seen, even if I don’t work on a ship anymore. Our lives have been put at risk. It’s a shameful situation”.

(Originally published in Italian)

Source:

* Quotidiano 11.08.2017 – “NGO and migrants, the witness: What rescues? I’ll unveil the traffickers” / “Ong e migranti, il testimone: Macché salvataggi, vi svelo i traffici”: http://www.quotidiano.net/cronaca/ong-migranti-1.3327858
* Il Giornale 13.08.2017 – “Signals and lies: how NGOs protected traffickers” / “Segnali e bugie: così le Ong proteggevano i trafficanti”:  http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/segnali-e-bugie-cos-ong-proteggevano-i-trafficanti-1430502.html

10.06.2017 – The crew of German NGO “Sea Eye e.V.” during a direct contact and transfer of migrants from the hands of traffickers.

Note: the migrants are wearing life jackets and are in seaworthy boat with engine still in place. The traffickers’ boat is in immediate proximity with the German NGO “rescue crew” commencing an illegal transfer.  Upon transfer completion the boat is subsequently towed back to shore to be reused for the next “human cargo” delivery. The markings on the side “SAR 23/05” (May 23rd) indicate that this particular boat was already used in a “SAR Op”.

Source: “Seefuchs” crew member

WATCH how MSF crew rubs shoulders with the traffickers and patiently waits for them to remove the engine to be reused. Subsequently, the MSF crew casually picks up their freshly delivered “human cargo”. The Italian Coast Guard was called only later to destroy the inflatables. Listen also to MSF unapologetic and arrogant statement.

Source: (VIDEO) BBC report 15.07.2017 – Migrant crisis: Smugglers in the Mediterranean:
http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-40616138/migrant-crisis-smugglers-in-the-mediterranean

28.07.2017

The Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms claims of “a rescue that came too late” could not be further from the truth. 

The independent & multi-source tracking of the NGO “Open Arms” vessel movement between 19-25.07.2017 paints a very different picture. During this time the vessel on numerous occasions entered illegally the Libyan territorial waters and was conducting unauthorized “SAR patrols” at times even 1 nm from the shore! Such a reckless and illegal activity naturally could not produce any other results but tragedy. The mere presence of an NGO rescue vessel encourages the human traffickers to immediately launch unseaworthy boats packed with as many people as possible. 

The dubious activity of the NGO vessel was reported to and scrutinized by the Italian Coast Guard. Additionally, when confronted with evidence and facing public backlash the Spanish NGO attempted to deny any wrongdoing by offering only a scurrilous explanation via twitter and claiming that: “our AIS signal has been hacked to show we’re in Libyan waters” (sic!). 
This is yet another example of NGO deception following their ulterior agenda at the cost of human lives.

Position tracking:  25.07.2017-12.33 hrs 

NOTE: NGO “Proactiva Open Arms” employs an on-board professional photographer Mr. Santi Palacios who specializes in “impact & SFX” photography. His art work earned him a wide recognition as well as an extensive critique of his peers for producing staged imagery, especially that of “fake drowning migrants” in the Aegean Sea in 2015/16. His art work: http://santipalacios.com/

Sources:
NGO “Open Arms” Vessel Tracking – Screenshot Examples 19-25.07.2017:* “Tichys Einblick”: https://www.tichyseinblick.de/daili-es-sentials/einwanderung-uebers-mittelmeer/ l* NGO “Proactiva Open Arms” Twitter: https://twitter.com/campsoscar/status/889969311821037572* Elizabeth Collett of the Migration Policy Institute: “They are in boats that cannot go a certain distance beyond a few miles from the Libyan coast. However, they are using those boats because of the presence of the NGOs.” http://www.migrationpolicy.org/about/staff/elizabeth-collett* The Spectator – “Madness in the Med: how charity rescue boats exacerbate the refugee crisis – They claim to be saving lives, but they are colluding in a people-trafficking operation”: https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/07/migrants-and-madness-in-the-med/* CNN – “A rescue that came too late”:  http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/26/europe/migrant-crisis-mediterranean/index.html
* Business Standard – Rescue ship arrives in Sicily with 245 migrants, 13 corpses:  http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/rescue-ship-arrives-in-sicily-with-245-migrants-13-corpses-117072801575_1.html

They claim to be saving lives, but they are colluding in a people-trafficking operation

By Nicholas Farrell

22 July 2017

Following the EU’s deal with Turkey over people smuggling, the issue of migrants trying to cross, and quite often drowning in, the Mediterranean has largely disappeared from the British media. There have been no more images like that of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish beach after the rubber dinghy in which his family were trying to reach the Greek island of Kos capsized in August 2015.

Now, people smugglers and migrants know there is little point in trying to make the crossing from Turkey to Greece because they will only be sent back, in return for the EU taking refugees directly from camps in Turkey. The deal has successfully curtailed the activities of criminal gangs operating in the eastern Mediterranean: in the first six months of this year arrivals in Greece had fallen by 93 per cent compared with a year earlier.

But the problem hasn’t gone away; it has shifted westwards to Italy, where things just go from bad to worse. Last year a record 181,000 migrants arrived there by sea, nearly all from Libya, and this year there are sure to be many more: over 90,000 have so far been ferried across the Mediterranean from near the Libyan coast to Sicily, 300 miles away, according to the latest figures from IOM, the UN migration agency. Earlier this week IOM reported that 2,359 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean already this year, on top of 5,083 deaths last year and 2,777 in 2015.

The EU, which has mismanaged the migrant problem from the start, only sealing the Turkey deal after years of inaction, has washed its hands of the latest explosion of migrant trafficking. It has ignored the Italian government’s increasingly desperate appeals for help.

Italy used to have a pressure valve. Most migrants used the country as a staging post to more prosperous countries in northern Europe. But with France and Austria reneging on the Schengen agreement by reintroducing border checks, they are stuck in Italy, a country with an unemployment rate of 12 per cent and an economy forecast to take another decade just to get back to the size it was in 2007. Worse, the migrant problem is concentrated in the south of Italy, where the economy is weakest and taxpayers most scarce. Many migrants are living in hostels, each at an annual cost of €13,000 to those Italians who do pay tax. Others disappear into the black economy, sleeping rough or living in illegally let and overcrowded flats.

Thanks in part to guilt about their fascist past, Italians are eager not to be racist, yet they are sick of what they see as an illegal migrant invasion and of the complicit role of four unelected Italian prime ministers since the resignation of the last elected one, Silvio Berlusconi, in 2011. According to a recent opinion poll published in the Rome daily Il Messaggero, 67 per cent of Italians want Italy to close its ports to rescue vessels or deport all migrants ferried to Italy, and 61 per cent want a naval blockade of the Libyan coast.

The left lost heavily in Italy’s local elections in June as a result of brewing anger at the migrant crisis. Giusi Nicolini, the mayor of Lampedusa who had won a peace prize from Unesco and been praised by the Pope, finished a humiliating third in her bid for re-election, defeated by a rival from her own Democratic party. She blamed her defeat on local opposition to a crackdown on illegal building, playing down the bigger issue of migrant arrivals.

But Lampedusa, just seven miles long and two miles wide, is 180 miles north of the Libyan coast and has been in the frontline of people trafficking, for which Nicolini showed rather too much tolerance. Italian attitudes are hardening, thanks to obvious and growing evidence that very few of the arriving migrants can honestly be called refugees — unless you widen that definition to include anyone who lives in Africa, on the basis that its standards of living and respect for human rights are universally lower than in western Europe.

The debate about migrant crossings tends to be held in the context of people fleeing from wars in Syria and Libya. Yet according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm, of the 46,995 migrant arrivals in Italy in the first four months of this year, only 635 were Syrians and 170 were Libyans. By contrast, 10,000 came from Nigeria, 4,135 from Bangladesh, 3,865 from the Gambia, 3,625 from Pakistan and 3,460 from Senegal. None of these countries can be said to be consumed by civil war, and even if some individuals had reason to claim asylum, international law dictates that they should claim it in the first ‘safe’ country they reach — which in every case would be before crossing the sea to Italy.

What is causing growing Italian anger is the role of charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the transport of migrants across the Mediterranean. The image the charities like to present is that of desperate people putting to sea in any vessel they can lay their hands on because whatever risks they run cannot exceed the dangers of staying in their homelands. Save the Children, for example, declares in heartrending prose on its website, between photos of young children wrapped in foil blankets, that ‘children are fleeing bullets, poverty, persecution and the growing impact of climate change, only to drown in European waters’.

The reality could not be more different. The vast majority of migrants from Libya are young men paying the equivalent of €1,000 each to people smugglers in what they see as a calculated risk to reach a better life in Europe. The business model of the smugglers does not include transporting their customers all the way to Italy, but rather to take them 12 nautical miles to the boundary of Libya’s territorial waters, so they can then be ‘rescued’ and ferried the rest of the way to Europe. The people smugglers are quite open about what they are doing: what can only be described as a Libya-based migrant travel agency has set up a Facebook page offering ‘tickets’ to ‘passengers’ with ‘discounts for group bookings’ on ‘ferries’ — i.e., smuggler boats — complete with phone number. The journey, it says, lasts only ‘three or four hours’ before rescue by an NGO, Italian or EU vessel, which will complete the ferry service to Italy.

Between October 2013 and October 2014 the second leg of the journey was provided by the Italian navy and coastguard in a search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum, which brought 190,000 migrants to Italy. But those vessels operated 150 miles north of the Libyan coast near Lampedusa, which itself is 170 miles south of Sicily. This meant migrants had to undertake much of the journey under their own steam. Mare Nostrum encouraged them to take greater risks and thus added to the death toll. The operation was replaced in 2014 when the EU agreed that Europe, not just Italy, should shoulder the search-and-rescue burden. So Operation Triton was launched. Under this, search-and-rescue vessels from across the EU operate up to a line 120 miles north of Libya. However, all charity vessels (now responsible for about a third of rescues) operate right up to the Libyan coast. Among them are the Vos Hestia, a 59-metre former offshore tug operated by Save the Children, the 68-metre MV Aquarius, jointly operated by SOS Mediterranée and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the 40-metre Phoenix, owned by MOAS, a charity founded by an American businessman and his Italian wife.

The operators of these vessels are legally obliged to assist those ‘in distress’ at sea if they are in a position to do so. What they are not allowed to do is to operate deliberate and unauthorised search-and-rescue missions within territorial waters, nor to pick people off a boat which is not ‘in distress’ on the pretext of ‘rescuing’ them. Moreover, if they do save people in distress, they are obliged under maritime law to take them to the nearest safe port, which is seldom in Italy.

But these boats are entering Libyan territorial waters. I asked an independent Dutch research institute, Gefira, for evidence. It used marine traffic websites (freely available to the public) which track ships in real time via satellite. It discovered that a dozen NGO vessels entered Libya’s waters, often many times. The Vos Hestia, for example, did so on the 5, 16, 22 and 23 May; the Aquarius on the 2, 5, 16 and 23 May and as recently as 9 July. The Phoenix was tracked there three times, most recently on 10 July.

The NGOs are now under investigation by Sicilian magistrates for possible collusion with people smugglers. Carmelo Zuccaro, the magistrate in charge, told the Turin daily La Stampa in April: ‘We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs and people traffickers in Libya.’ He says phone calls have been made from Libya to certain NGOs, lamps have been lit to illuminate the route to these organisations’ boats, and some of these boats have suddenly turned off their locating transponders.

At the time, Save the Children said: ‘The Vos Hestia, which operates in international waters and in coordination with the [Italian] coastguard, has never entered Libyan waters.’ It has since changed its tune. George Graham, Save the Children’s Director of Humanitarian Policy, said: ‘Save the Children operates in international waters, moving closer to territorial waters only if instructed by the Italian coastguard. On a highly exceptional basis, and if deemed necessary to save lives, Save the Children may enter Libyan waters operating under the coordination of the Italian coastguard. We are not a ferry service. We do not communicate with traffickers or people smugglers.’

Marco Bertotto, head of advocacy for MSF Italy, admits: ‘There were three occasions in 2016 when MSF — in critical and urgent cases and with the explicit authorisation of the relevant Libyan and Italian authorities — assisted in rescues 11.5 nautical miles from the coast. Also in 2017, we have entered on a few occasions in Libyan waters, and with the explicit authorisation of relevant authorities.’ A MOAS spokesman said Phoenix entered Libyan waters only when authorised by the Italian coastguard in Rome. Despite repeated calls and emails, the coastguard declined to explain why it issued such authorisations.

These charities, and others operating ships in the Mediterranean, of course
claim to be saving lives. But what they are really doing is colluding — either intentionally or not — in a people-trafficking operation. If charities and NGOs stopped providing a pick-up service a few miles
off Libya, and if Italy started returning
migrants to the North African countries whence they came, the smugglers’ boats would not put to sea.

Those who are dying are the victims of a well–intentioned but thoroughly misguided operation which will come to be seen as great moral stain on Europe.

Source: https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/07/migrants-and-madness-in-the-med/

The Times

By Philip Willan

26 August 2017

Magistrates in three Sicilian ports have opened investigations into suspected collusion between charities and Libyan people traffickers.

It follows the decision of a judge from Trapani in western Sicily to impound a ship operated by the German non-profit group Jugend Rettet (Youth to the Rescue) this month.

Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières are also under investigation, according to Italian media, but both charities said they had received no official communication to that effect.

The charities bitterly reject claims of collusion. Médecins Sans Frontières said it was “a heinous accusation”, for which prosecutors had been unable to produce supporting evidence.

The suspects in the Trapani investigation are said to include two skippers of the Iuventa, a former trawler operated by Jugend Rettet, a third crew member, and Father Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean priest who has frequently alerted authorities to the plight of his countrymen adrift on the Mediterranean.

The Trapani investigation has relied on testimony from an undercover police officer infiltrated into the crew of a ship operated by Save the Children and on bugs used to record on-board conversations.

Save the Children insists it has always respected the law and collaborated with Italian authorities.

It said it would take legal action to protect its reputation from the “false and defamatory information” being spread in the media by employees of the security company that had operated on its ships.

Among the first to alert authorities to alleged irregularities were two private security guards operating on board Save the Children’s rescue ship Vos Hestia. One guard recently renewed his accusations in an interview with the newspaper Quotidiano Nazionale.

The witness claimed traffickers communicated with charities by satellite phone, adding: “To tell the truth, I saw few migrants in danger of their lives.”

Source:  https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/migrant-crisis-sicily-accuses-charities-of-collusion-with-traffickers-2kpmrz3cq

Libya Herald

23 August 2017

Three people working for Save the Children were detained yesterday at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport.

The UK charity said tonight it was not able to respond immediately to the Libya Herald’s enquiry but a staff member did confirm that some sort of incident had occurred at the airport.

It is understood that a Pakistani and an Egyptian were detained along with a Libyan who also worked for Save the Children.

Security at the airport is now in the hands of Abdul Rauf’ Kara’s Rada Deterrence Force. It has issued no statement on the detention of the charity workers.

Source:  https://www.libyaherald.com/2017/08/23/save-the-children-charity-workers-detained-at-mitiga/

Prosecutor Zuccaro in Catania warns of much serious offenses than that of ‘Iuventa’ case in Trapani.

Il Giornale

By  Franco Grilli

13 August 2017

A second investigation may overwhelm the NGOs. This time it comes from the Prosecutor’s Office in Catania and deals with the case followed by the Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro who first reported the alleged liaison between migrant traffickers and the NGOs. The Catania investigation brings to light new allegations of “criminal association” aimed at favoring a clandestine immigration. The investigation shows that some NGO members were involved not only in direct contact with the traffickers but in addition shared some strategies with them for rescues and migrant transfer. Here is the substantial difference between the two investigations. The Trapani Prosecutor’s Office is investigating only the individual conduct of some NGO crew members without advancing into the possibility of a common act. The investigation and collected evidence in Catania concerning traffickers and NGOs is far more in-depth and alleges not only sporadic contact activity but a likely organized liaison between rescue crews and the traffickers. In fact, the allegedly committed crime as suggested by the Prosecutor’s Office in Catania is far more serious than the accusations coming from Trapani.

The scenario of the investigation could therefore rapidly change and give almost a face of “common act” to liaisons and contacts between NGOs and human traffickers.

Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office
Dott. Carmelo Zuccaro
Piazza Giovanni Verga
95100 – Catania (CT)
Tel: 095/366111
Email: procura.catania@giustizia.it

(Originally published in Italian)

Source: “Catania – Other accusations against NGOs: it’s a criminal association” / “Catania, altra accusa sulle Ong: È associazione a delinquere”.  http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/catania-altra-accusa-sulle-ong-associazione-delinquere-1430615.html

Catanese prosecutors are alleging that the boat Vos Hestia, which docked in Malta on Monday was in cahoots with traffickers facilitating clandestine immigration

Malta Today

By Denise Grech

18 August 2017

Prosecutors in Catania have alleged that the boat ‘Vos Hestia’, of Save the Children, is working with illegal traffickers to facilitate clandestine immigration.

The investigators claim that some NGO members were involved not only in direct contact with the traffickers but also shared some strategies with them for rescues and migrant transfer.

The search and rescue boat has been docked in Malta since Monday, as reports that the Libyan navy was threatening humanitarian vessels in Save the Children’s patrolling zones surfaced.

“A second investigation may overwhelm the NGOs,” Save the Children said in a reaction to the news.

This is the second investigation against search and rescue organisations, after prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro made waves last April when he reported that some NGOs, including Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), “could be financed by traffickers”.

The first Trapani investigation is, however, “far less serious” according to Save the Children, as it alleges that only some NGO members have made contact with illegal traffickers.

“People aboard the [NGO] ships are clearly aware of the time and place where they will find vessels carrying migrants, so they are clearly previously informed,” chief Trapani prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said.

Catania prosecutors however claim that the criminal activity is not sporadic or individual but an organized liaison between rescue crews and the traffickers.

In an interview with Italian paper Quotidiano, former Save the Children security officer Lucio M., said that the NGO is focused on business rather than saving lives.

“The NGOs don’t give a hoot about migrants. It’s only a business of the moment,” he sated, arguing that he faced threats from STC before speaking out.

Lucio also claims that STC is purposefully hiring Eritrean and Libyan men who liaise with traffickers, giving them the exact position of boats full of asylum-seekers.


Source:  http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/world/79811/second_investigation_launched_against_save_the_children_boat_docked_in_malta