Evidence on illegal pull-back and disappearance of 4 people
Humanity 1 rescues 26 people and publishes evidence on illegal pull-back and disappearance of 4 persons during operation by Tunisian Coast Guard and Italian Coast Guard
On Friday 11 July, our crew was able to rescue 26 people from an unseaworthy overcrowded rubber boat, without life jackets in international waters in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region (SRR). The Place of safety (PoS) assigned by Italian authorities is Brindisi where Humanity 1 will arrive on Tuesday 15 July at around 09:00 CET.
The distress case was spotted by lookout on Friday morning. Around 11:15 CET, the rescue of an overcrowded boat was completed, and all 26 survivors were taken safely on board. Survivors had departed from Zuwiyah, Libya and spent 30 hours at sea. Most survivors, among them also minors, are from war-torn Sudan, and others from Egypt, Mali, and Ivory Coast.
Shortly after completing the rescue, Humanity 1 received a mayday relay by Frontex aircraft reporting approximately 70 people in distress. The NGO aircraft Seabird 1 was on scene and confirmed the distress case as well, stating that the boat is adrift. Humanity 1 proceeded to assist under the coordination of the Italian Maritime Coordination Centre (MRCC). While en route, the crew of Humanity 1 overheard a VHF radio exchange between the Tunisian and Italian Coast Guards about an operation at sea: the Tunisian Coast Guard reported that they took 33 people on board, while the Italian Coast Guard reported 27 people on board their vessel, indicating that four people are missing. The Italian MRCC later informed the crew of Humanity 1 that the persons were “rescued” and instructed the vessel to proceed to Brindisi.
SOS Humanity’s evidence from Humanity 1 confirms an illegal pull-back by the Tunisian Coast Guard, forcing 33 persons back to Tunisia and leaving at least 4 persons missing at sea. The coercive interception by the Tunisian Coast Guard has been first published by Maldusa and Mediterranean Hope projects based on testimonies of survivors who landed in Lampedusa after having been rescued by the Italian Coast Guard on Friday 11 July. Their publication mirrors Humanity 1´s evidence from at sea.
This is yet another example of the deadly consequences of the EU externalisation policies: supported by the EU and its member states protection seekers are left to die and refugees are brought back to Tunisia against international law, where they are subjected to arbitrary detention, racist discrimination, and collective expulsions to the desert. The Tunisian Coast Guard does not conduct search and rescue according to international law but illegally forces people back to Tunisia despite the Italian Coast Guard being on scene for rescuing them and bringing them to a place of safety. This is the clear consequence of systematic outsourcing of search and rescue to the Tunisian Coast Guard by the EU and its member states.
The loss of four lives and the forced return of 33 people to Tunisia, where their rights are not protected, is yet another stark indictment of Europe’s deadly migration policies and its direct responsibility for these human rights violations at sea.
Link to our recordings in our media hub.
Find here photos from the ongoing rotation – for editorial purposes only.
