All papers signed, time for appealing the decisions expired! After a seven-year odyssey, we now hold the final documents of our trial with a swirl of emotions. The delivery of the translation of the grounds for the verdict marks the final act of the longest, most expensive and most extensive criminal proceedings ever initiated against sea rescue organisations – and it ended with more than just an acquittal!

 The facts of the case do not constitute a crime.

19 April 2024, the judge concluded

By the “facts of the case,” the judge referred to the rescue operations of the IUVENTA crew and their colleagues from other SAR (search and rescue) organizations in 2016 and 2017. During this period, the IUVENTA crew helped more than 20.000 people escape from Libya by rescuing them from unseaworthy boats and ensuring they were brought to a safe port. The judge realised that everyone did what they were supposed to do: the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (IMRCC) coordinated, the rescue ship IUVENTA rescued, and the ships of Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières brought the survivors to a port of safety. Basta!

The attempt by the prosecutor’s office to characterize the rescue operations of the IUVENTA crew as “transfers agreed with smugglers for the purpose of ‘facilitating the illegal entry’ of people into Italy” failed, as did the attempt to prove a cross-organizational “conspiracy to commit criminal acts.” What remains is the realization that the case was built on sloppy investigations, flawed, if not manipulated, investigation files and completely unreliable witnesses.

The proceedings took place behind closed doors due to the alleged “protection of the personal rights of the accused” and “respect for the presumption of innocence.” However, for many, we were already guilty before the main proceedings had even begun. Since the seizure of the IUVENTA in August 2017 our trial has repeatedly been at the center of the political and media debate on sea rescue. It was presented as “big strike against the sea taxis” and as a “proof” for all kinds of conspiracy theories.

This political manipulation of narratives surrounding flight and flight assistance has paid off. In the slipstream of this political theatre, the focus of public discourse has been subtly redirected and altered, and attention has been diverted from substantive issues – such as the fundamental rights and humanitarian needs of people on the move or the ethics of border policies – and instead focused on assigning blame or creating scapegoats.

Under the guise of allegedly ‘protecting refugees’ from ‘evil smugglers’, the external borders were further militarised and shifted. Separate legal spaces were created, which are highly non-transparent and hardly verifiable. The creation of the s.c. Libyan coastguard established a monstrous ‘push-back-by-proxy’ regime, which relies on deterrence and accepts the suffering and death of thousands of people on the move.

The evidence presented speaks with absolute clarity and completeness for the absence of the criminal offenses of which the defendants are accused.

From the judge’s statement of reasons

With the help of our great legal team – and years of stable emotional, financial and political support from countless comrades and supporters – we were able to fully reconstruct the events of our rescue activities, leaving no room for speculation or flimsy allegations.

On the investigation, the practice and the attitude of the public prosecutor’s office

The judge found that the investigation was based on “incomplete evidence”, “analyzed only from a partial perspective” and drawn from “trivial interrogation transcripts”. In a “one-sided evidential context”, aspects of “low evidential value” were overemphasised and completely uncertain data with no clear meaning were presented as “certain”.

In particular, the judge repeatedly called attention to the reality-distorting reports of the undercover agent Luca Bracco, whose statements formed two-thirds of the accusation. Furthermore, not all the necessary data was collected, despite being “available or at least easy to obtain”. The judge cites the fact that the investigating authorities were satisfied with the “sparse datasets” of the IMRCC, simply neglecting to request additional elements “that would allow an overall picture of the individual events and verify the behaviour of the protagonists of each event”.

As a result of this one-sided nature of the investigation and the “distorted accounts of some key events” provided by the investigators, the interpretations drawn by the prosecution did not correspond to what emerged as “actual events” at the preliminary hearing.

On the legal framework

The judge stressed that the iuventa crew’s actions must be viewed within the context of their obligation to perform sea rescues, as mandated by international and national law. This perspective led the judge to dismiss three allegations in the indictment. He stated: 

Contrary to the claims of the public prosecutor’s office, the data clearly showed that all rescue operations were under the command and constant coordination of the IMRCC!

Contrary to the opinion of the public prosecutor’s office, the people rescued by the iuventa crew were in a “obviously life-threatening situation, as they were traveling on inappropriate and overloaded boats, unsuitable to cover long distances safely and to reach the European coasts independently”. Considering the lack of “competent navigation, sufficient fuel, and safety devices” they were rightly considered “shipwrecked people” until brought safely ashore. 

Contrary to the prosecution’s allegation that the iuventa-crew had returned boats and engines to smugglers or failed to prevent their recovery – a central allegation based on the testimony of alleged witnesses Pietro Gallo and undercover agent Luca Bracco and cited as the ultimate proof of co-operation between the iuventa crew and the people smugglers – the judge took a clear position on this: the “IUVENTA personnel were in no way legally obliged to prevent the recovery of the boats and engines. Therefore, no criminal offense could be established.” However, he also made it clear that such an intervention by IUVENTA’s crew during the rescue operation would have endangered the lives of the shipwrecked people and that the decision to refrain from such a dangerous action was therefore justified anyway.

After the field of suspicion has been cleared on the basis of objective data, the sources of evidence offer no alternative solutions and cannot be interpreted differently from those presented above. Furthermore, the evidence already collected during the preliminary hearing cannot be supplemented and could not be further developed in any way in the incriminating direction.

From the judge’s statement of reasons

But the judge found his strongest words in his FINAL RESUME:  

The court recognised the legitimacy of the escape from Libyan detention camps and drew the important and long overdue conclusion: escape assistance is ‘indeed’ necessary!

Escape from torture, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, mistreatment, sexual and labour exploitation, deprivation of basic human needs (food and medical care) is clearly indicative of the inevitability of escaping a situation of present danger of serious personal harm arising from being held in Libyan detention centres for migrant transits.

From the judge’s statement of reasons


From this point of view, any behaviour that is materially capable of enabling migrants to enter Italy without an entry permit would indeed be necessary, as it serves to protect the fundamental interests of the person concerned and frees migrants in transit through Libya from the inhumane conditions in the detention camps.

From the judge’s statement of reasons

---

What remains after such a trial? 

Above all, the anger and rage at the consequences of the seizure of the IUVENTA. It had terrible and deadly consequences for the thousands of people fleeing the hell of Libya by sea, who were denied the right to rescue and access to a safe harbor. The IUVENTA, had she not been confiscated in 2017, could have made an important contribution to the rescue of these people in recent years. We will never forgive or forget this!

Yes, we obtained an acquittal and exposed how the criminal investigation far exceeded reasonable and possibly legal boundaries. An anti-mafia prosecutor’s office spend over 3 million euros to deploy five investigative units, including a special unit against “organized crime,” targeting sea rescue activists. They bugged three ships, tapped over 40 phones, and used undercover agents. All of this now appears in an inglorious light.

However, despite the legal success and powerful political campaigns, these trial has done a great service to Fortress Europe. It served as a justification for defaming solidary action and prepared the way for further crackdowns on Civil Sea Rescue. For almost all the protagonists of this operation against the ‘taxis of the seas’ there are no consequences so far, only lucrative posts. This lack of accountability and acceptance of responsibility is intolerable, which is why the outcome of this criminal trial falls far short of actual justice.

Yes, we are relieved about the result and the conclusion of the trial! We are deeply grateful for the dedication, passion, and tremendous time and energy spend by our wonderful comrades and supporters. Their knowledge and experience were crucial in keeping us on track and maintaining perspective. It was only through their immense care work — an often invisible and underestimated effort, but fundamentally important — that this trial could not break us. The contribution of our comrades and allies was truly invaluable!

Yes, we were acquitted, as is often the case for white European activists. But people on the move continue to face systematic imprisonment and harsh sentencing in criminal trials simply because they steered the boat that enabled their own and others’ escape.

Be complicit!

… this call has become extremely meaningful for us in recent years! Especially in political (criminal) trials, a strong and active support network is crucial! Many people have supported us emotionally, financially and politically over the years, standing behind us and enabling us to conduct this trial with integrity and courage.

Thanks to this support, we were able to go beyond the ‘simple’ arguments that may have seemed most palatable to the court and the public. We were able to make it clear that this case was about more than just us four defendants or a single rescue vessel. We were able to gain space – in the courtroom and in public!
We are very grateful for that!

But we still have anger in our bellies! The conditions and realities at the EU’s borders have not changed one bit for the better. 

The times we live in are so incredibly cruel! A growing authoritarianism and the erosion of universal human rights progress. The right to have rights is being dismantled and bulldozed in an intolerable extent, not only at the borders of the EU – but from Gaza to Sudan to Rojava.

In such cruel times and ever-shrinking spaces of opportunity for solidarity – to (re)conquer a little space can not only bring some glimmer of hope and relief but also be sand in the gears! We are not the only ones who have achieved important legal successes against Fortress Europe in recent months! There are many others who are fighting, who are not intimidated by the machinery of repression. We are convinced that together we can make a difference!

---

So much police and yet no justice!

The ship IUVENTA was seized in the port of Lampedusa on 2 August 2017 – exactly seven years ago – and has now been returned to us as a wreck. In December 2022, the judge in our proceedings found that the IUVENTA had been severely damaged and neglected during the period of confiscation. He then ruled that the authority responsible for the seizure and supervision of the IUVENTA must pay for the ship’s repairs. But now, after the conclusion of our proceedings, the judge has withdrawn this judgment: it is not within his competence to decide this.

The ship was simply handed over to us in a completely destroyed condition. According to initial estimates by experts, it would take several hundred thousand euros to make the ship seaworthy again. But we will not let the Italian state get away with it! For us, this now means joining forces with the organization “Jugend rettet” in a civil lawsuit to force them to take responsibility!

---

A story like that of the IUVENTA must not be repeated!

Every civil sea rescue vessel that is confiscated or detained; every crew that has to defend itself for years in a criminal trial because of its solidarity actions – all of this should trigger an outcry and resistance!

Our acquittal is only a milestone, not the end of the fight!

The core problems that led us to act remain:

The denial of safe and legal escape and migration routes to Europe.

The dangerous journeys that people on the move are forced to take, leading to violence and death.

The criminalisation of solidarity with and mutual assistance among refugees, leading to the destruction of lives by EU migration policies.

Our commitment is unwavering. We will continue:

At sea: Rescuing and assisting those in danger.

In courts: Defending the rights of people on the move and those who act in solidarity with them.

On the streets: Raising awareness and mobilising support in our communities.

Together, we will continue to fight for justice, for the right to have rights, and for freedom of movement for all!

Solidarity And Resistance,
iuventa-crew