Italian prosecutors are investigating rescue workers from international NGOs, including some from the German NGO Jugend Rettet. The investigation comes as Italy's populist government cracks down on private sea rescues.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/ANSA/E. Desiderio
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Prosecutors from the Sicilian town of Trapani opened an investigation on Wednesday into more than 20 sea rescue workers accused of assisting with illegal immigration, according to a report from German newsmagazine Der Spiegel.
The rescuers work for various international nongovernmental organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children. Prosecutors have not pressed any charges and the preliminary investigation is a "technical process" in order to gather information from computers and phones, a spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders told German press agency DPA.
"We are sure that these technical reviews confirm what we have always said: that we operate at sea in accordance with the law," the spokesperson said.
Italy has intensified its fight against private sea rescuers. In June, it turned away a migrant rescue ship that belonged to the German NGO Sea Watch and was carrying more than 600 refugees. The country's populist government has promised to curb the massive influx of migrants from Africa — more than 600,000 have entered the country in the past five years.
The Iuventa, belonging to Berlin-based NGO Jugend Rettet, was impounded by Italian authorities last yearImage: Getty Images/AFP/A. Fucarini
Iuventa row continues
Ten of the rescue workers who are part of the investigation are crew members of the rescue ship Iuventa, which belongs to the Berlin-based NGO Jugend Rettet (youth to the rescue). Iuventa was impounded by Italian authorities last August under the suspicion that the organization was aiding illegal immigration and working with Libyan smugglers.
Some crew members received subpoenas to search confiscated items, a spokesperson for Jugend Rettet told DPA. Those items include computers and telephones that have been in the possession of Italian authorities for the past year.
The Iuventa was not a ship that brought people to land, instead transferring them to NGOs who then take them to land. Jugend Rettet insisted it operated according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Since the Iuventa was impounded last year, there have been no indictments and there has been no information about a possible investigative process.
"In the context of the measures against other NGOs, we wonder why, after months, these steps are now taking place," the Jugend Rettet spokesperson said.
Remembering the refugees of Lampedusa
Lampedusa is regarded by many Africans as a gateway to Europe. Human rights activist Mamadou Ba visited the island recently and his photos cast light on the fate of the refugees who died on their way to Lampedusa.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Lampedusa, gateway to Europe
For many Africans who want to enter Europe, the Italian island of Lampedusa is seen as a gateway. Senagalese-born Mamadou Ba is a human rights activist with SOS Racismo who has been living in Portugal since 1997. He recently visited Lampedusa and his photos commemorate the many refugees who died in the attempt to reach Europe.
Image: Mamadou Ba
A ships' graveyard
At the ships' graveyard in Lampedusa lie the remains of vessels that brought African refugees to Europe. Many lost their lives while crossing the sea to the Italian island. The greatest tragedy occured on October 3, 2013, when 366 refugees were drowned. On January 11, 2014, the Italian navy rescued about 200 refugees.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Dying while seeking a better life
Lampedusa is now regarded as a cemetery for thousands of immigrants. "People have to die just because they try to have a better life" said Mamadou Ba . In October 2013, 400 people lost their lives on the way from North Africa to Lampedusa. The majority came from Eritrea and Somalia.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Relics of a deadly crossing
Little is known about the people who die while attempting to enter Europe. Most of them end their lives as anonymous statistics. They left few traces such as these dresses that were retrieved after ships sank off Lampedusa.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Objects of humanity
A few personal items belonging to the victims of shipwrecks, such as passports, personal photographs and notes, can be seen in a small museum in Lampedusa. "These objects help us to remember these people, despite their deaths. Some of the objects show us that the refugees were simple people with simple dreams," said Mamadou Ba.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Everyday routine on the high seas
The immigrants bring with them their habits and their culture. They also try to maintain certain routines while crossing the Mediterranean. It is not known whether these pots on show in the Lampedusa museum belonged to refugees who lost their lives or if they are lost belongings of people who survived the crossing.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Remembrance of lost lives
Traces of the immigrants can be found all over the nine mile (14 kilometers)-long island. "They allow us to keep alive the memories of people who are no longer alive," Mamadou Ba said. Lampedusa is located about 205 kilometers south of the Italian island of Sicily and is only about 130 kilometers from Tunisia. This makes Lampedusa an ideal bridge to Europe.
Image: Mamadou Ba
Against "Fortress Europe"
This bunker from the Second World War is a symbol of the European Union's fortress mentality. In February 2014 over 400 representatives of civil society protested against this and called for a new European immigration policy. In view of the many deaths taking place at the borders of the EU, they demand more respect for the refugees' human rights.
Image: Mamadou Ba
The Mediterranean off Lampedusa
Inhabitants of the small Italian island located in the Mediterranean between Sicily and North Africa are now hoping for better days. But as long as European immigration policy is not radically redesigned, few people believe that the flow of immigrants and the associated tragedies will end.
