Italian authorities this Monday ordered a 20-day detention of the Aurora humanitarian vessel after the ship of the German non-governmental organization (NGO) Sea Watch disembarked 72 migrants on the island of Lampedusa against their instructions.
The Aurora was supposed to sail for the Italian port of Trapani, farther away from her position in the central Mediterranean, but she decided to dock at Lampedusa because, in her words, “she had no other choice.”
“Now the vessel will be delayed for 20 days based on the Italian government’s order, and Sea Watch will be fined between 2,500 and 10,000 euros,” the NGO said in a statement.
The organization claimed that after rescuing these people in the waters of the central Mediterranean, “the situation on board worsened by the minute, and one person was even found unconscious due to intense heat.”
The port authorities indicated the port of Trapani, at a distance four times greater than Lampedusa, which the ship’s command considered “unreachable”, which is why they ignored the instructions of the authorities.
Sea Watch mission chief Rebecca Berker accused Italy of “deliberately endangering all life on Aurora.”
This is not the first time that Sea Watch has disobeyed the instructions of the Italian authorities, since in 2019 the vessel Sea Watch 3 also entered the port of Lampedusa without permission to disembark migrants rescued at sea.
According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, 105,449 immigrants landed on the Italian coast this year alone, more than double the number of 50,759 in the same period last year.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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