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Rome, Aug. 2, 2017 (dpa/NAN) A German aid organisation on Wednesday called media reports that its ship in the Mediterranean Sea had been “intercepted” by Italian authorities and forced to return to shore were nonsense.
Jugend Rettet (Youth Rescues) spokesperson, Pauline Schmidt said that the organisation’s ship, the Iuventa, had been subjected to a routine inspection that all migrant aid ships in the area must undergo.
“The Iuventa was not confiscated.
“Our crew was not arrested.
“It was standard procedure. We are awaiting more information,” the organisation wrote on Twitter.
Italian media had reported that the coastguard had stopped the Iuventa near Lampedusa and then escorted it back to shore.
Jugend Rettet is one of several aid organisations including most notably Doctors Without Borders, that have refused to agree on a code of conduct with Italy looking to regulate the transport of migrants.
Italy is seeking to regulate NGO work, with EU support, after EU border agency Frontex and Italian prosecutors accused charities of encouraging migrant departures and supporting smuggling operations by carrying out sea rescues closer and closer to the Libyan shore and transporting the migrants to Europe.
NAN reports that the Italian coastguard said charity boats have become increasingly important in rescue operations, picking up more than a third of all migrants brought ashore so far this year against less than one per cent in 2014.
Italy had previously threatened to shut its ports to NGOs that did not sign up, but an Interior Ministry source said in reality those groups would face more checks from Italian authorities. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Sadiya Hamza