The ECCHR, Amnesty International, Giuristi Democratici, Swiss Democratic Lawyers, European Democratic Lawyers and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights. These human rights organisations are closely following the preliminary hearings in our case.

On the ECCHR website they explain why they are doing so and give background information on the meaning and purpose of the so-called preliminary procedure:

The purpose of preliminary hearings in Italian criminal procedure is to verify the charges against the accused. Preliminary hearings take place at the end of the preliminary investigation phase, after the public prosecutor has officially notified the accused of the charges against them. The presiding judge can either close the case without the need for a trial; resolve the case on the basis of the evidence already submitted through one of two special procedures (either a plea bargain or an abbreviated trial); or make a determination that the case shall proceed to trial. The judge must also ensure that the defendants’ rights set forth in Italian criminal procedure have been respected in order to ensure a fair judicial process.

According to Italian criminal procedure, preliminary hearings are closed to the public. This is to protect the presumption of innocence, privacy, and safety of the defendants. In this case, however, legal documents were leaked to the Italian press during the five-year preliminary investigation, including the full names of Iuventa crew members. This resulted in a heavy media smear campaign, surveillance by Italian authorities, as well as threats by far-right movements against those named in the documents. Given these existing threats to the presumption of innocence already in the public domain, and in light of the case’s significant implications for human rights defense at sea and civil society action more broadly, ECCHR and its partner organizations submitted applications to the judge in May 2022 requesting permission to conduct independent observation of the hearings on-site. The requests emphasized the fact that independent documentation of the judicial process is a crucial resource for informed public debate.

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Learn more about the initiatives of these legal human rights organisations!

ECCHR
Giuristi Democratici
Swiss Democratic Lawyers
European Democratic Lawyers
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights
Amnesty International