Berlin/Crotone, 19 March 2024. Yesterday, Monday 18 March 2024, a judge at the ordinary civil court in Crotone (Calabria), Italy, ruled in favour of SOS Humanity’s fast track appeal: the detention of the rescue ship Humanity 1 on 4 March 2024 was not lawful according to his preliminary assessment. The ship is free with immediate effect. The final hearing for the appeal is set for 17 April. At the press conference taking place on the ship today, the background on the detention of three rescue ships within a short period of time on the basis of false claims by the authorities will be outlined.

Since the three ships were detained, around one hundred people have died in the Mediterranean. “These people could perhaps have been saved,” says Laura Gorriahn, Chair of the Board of SOS Humanity, in Crotone. “One of the three ships could have found these people if they hadn’t been blocked. That puts a heavy burden on our crew.”

Laura Gorriahn from SOS Humanity comments on the lifting of the detention of the Humanity 1: “The events of our rescue on 2 March and the evidence are clear: the so-called Libyan Coast Guard not only interrupted our orderly rescue, but deliberately endangered human lives and threatened our crew with weapons. We are pleased that an independent Italian judge has ruled in accordance with these facts and lifted the detention with immediate effect. This is an important signal of the rule of law to the Italian authorities who were implementing the political agenda of the Meloni government by obstructing civil search and rescue.”

Background:

The press releases on the rescue of 77 people and the explosive intervention of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard on 2 March can be found here.

The press release on the detention on 4 March can be found here.

The compiled evidence that ultimately led to the release of the Humanity 1 can be found here.

The official documents on the detention on 4 March with the inaccurate accusations against SOS Humanity can be found here.