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PRESS INFO
For insight into the course of the hearings
see the latest PRESS RELEASE or
read the TRIAL MONITORING reports.
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Press Infos
19.04.2024 Court’s final decision in the IUVENTA trial Invitation – Online press conference
Trapani, 19 April at 12:00, the preliminary proceedings in the most extensive and controversial investigation against members of civilian sea rescue organisations will come to a definitive conclusion after two years and over 40 hearings. The outcome is likely to set a precedent for future cases. The court in Trapani will decide: Acquittal or main trial!
After the radical change in stance of the public prosecutor, who, together with the Italian state as joint plaintiff, had asked for the case to be dropped, the court will now take a final decision on whether to proceed to main trial or acquit the defendants. This decision has far-reaching consequences. It goes beyond the individuals directly accused and affects the entire civilian sea rescue as an important pillar of solidarity with people on the move. It will also impact the legal framework surrounding such rescue operations, shaping the future of rescue efforts at sea.ONLINE PRESS CONFERENCE on Friday 19 April after the hearing.
We expect this to take place around 14:30 CET. Please register at: press@solidarity-at-sea.org
Lawyers and defendants are available for INTERVIEWS throughout the day:
+4917623643117 / press@solidarity-at-sea.org
We invite all media representatives to join the press conference or reach out to us for more background information! The outcome of this case will receive widespread attention in view of its scope, the enormous costs and the devastating impact it has had on search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean to this day.
PRESS CONFERENCE – constitutional complaint – 13.05.2023
Most important readings
Caso Iuventa: le violazioni dei diritti fondamentali e la politicizzazione del processo
Melting Pot Europa
L’intervista all’Avv. Francesca Cancellaro, collegio difensivo dell’equipaggio Iuventa.
I legali di Iuventa: il reato di favoreggiamento è illegittimo, intervengano Consulta e Corte Ue
Il Manifesto
Depositata un’istanza al giudice di Trapani sull’articolo 12 del Testo unico immigrazione. La decisione attesa entro giugno. Il procedimento contro l’equipaggio della nave umanitaria, sotto sequestro da sei anni, è ancora in fase di udienza preliminare.
Processo Iuventa: sul Testo Unico sull Immigrazione si pronunci la Consulta. E traballa anche il decreto Piantedosi
La Repubblica
L’istanza è stata presentata a Trapani, nell’unico procedimento rimasto in piedi contro le ong accusate di fare da “taxi del mare”. Ma gli effetti potrebbero influenzare decine di inchieste e processi e cambiare la vita a più di mille persone.
Trial observation group: Monitoring reports of pre-trial procedures
ECCHR is partnering with other legal human rights organizations – Amnesty International, Giuristi Democratici, Swiss Democratic Lawyers, European Democratic Lawyers and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights – to closely monitor the preliminary hearings in the sea rescue case. Read the reports of the pre-trial procedures in the background section.
The iuventa trial: timeline
borderline-europe Menschenrechte ohne Grenzen e.V.
On 21 May 2022, four crew members of the civilian search and rescue vessel Iuventa travelled to the court in Trapani, Sicily, for the first day of the preliminary hearing. Other hearings took place In the following months: here you can find the timeline of the trial!
The Civil Fleet Podcast Episode 36: Defending the Iuventa 4 refugee rescuers
In this episode Francesca Cancellaro, one of the human rights lawyers representing the Iuventa 4 updates us on the pretrial, walks us through some of the many irregularities prolonging it, and explains why the case is so important for the future of activist-led rescue missions.
Rebel Boat
Hacked Phones, Undercover Cops, and Conspiracy Theories: Inside Italy’s Crackdown on Humanitarian Rescue
Italy: Criminalisation of human rights defenders engaged in sea-rescue missions must end, says UN expert
GENEVA (9 February 2023) – A UN expert* today condemned the criminalisation and repression of human rights defenders involved in sea-rescue charities in Italy, ahead of the trial of NGO crew members in Sicily.
Ong e migranti: facciamo chiarezza
Comitato per il diritto al soccorso
Da sempre il grido “uomo in mare” ha fatto scattare l’opera di soccorso. Il soccorso da parte di qualunque nave sia in condizioni di farlo. Non c’è nemmeno bisogno che un tal principio sia statuito in trattati e convenzioni internazionali che costituiscono il diritto del mare. Ma ci sono anche gli obblighi che, ratificandoli, hanno assunto gli Stati e l’Italia tra questi, per poter far parte delle “nazioni civili”.
Processo alle Ong, niente interprete per gli indagati: «Diritti ancora violati»
IL DUBBIO
Avvocati spiati, giornalisti intercettati e ora anche interpreti inadeguati e atti non tradotti. Il più grande processo contro le Ong, a cinque anni dal sequestro della nave Iuventa, rimane ancora fermo al palo. Il tutto per colpa di una falla sistemica, che mette a rischio i diritti fondamentali degli indagati.
‘It’s a never-ending nightmare’: crew of refugee rescue ship facing jail
Thousands of lives were saved by activists who have now been put on trial in Sicily on trafficking charges
Klagt Italien diesen Sommer vier deutsche Seenotretter an?
In Sizilien hat eine Gerichtsverhandlung begonnen, die zu einem Prozess gegen die private Seenotrettung werden könnte. Dass die Verhandlung unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit stattfand, ist kein gutes Zeichen.
Sicily judge to weigh trial of migrant rescue NGOs
Charities running migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean face a pre-trial hearing in Sicily Saturday over alleged collusion with people traffickers after a controversial probe that involved mass wiretapping.
La solidarietà non è un crimine. A sostegno delle navi Ong
Oggi al Tribunale di Trapani a processo 21 persone, la maggior parte delle quali fanno parte di 3 organizzazioni attive nel soccorso in mare: fra loro l’equipaggio della nave tedesca Iuventa e quelli delle navi utilizzate fino al 2017 da MSF e Save the Children.
Solidarität wird kriminalisiert
Angeklagt sind 21 Personen wegen angeblicher Schlepperei. Es ist das bisher größte Verfahren, auch Ex-Innenminister Matteo Salvini ist mitverwickelt.
The Civil Fleet Podcast Episode 24: Twenty years behind bars for saving lives
On May 21, Kathrin Schmidt and three others from the ship are due to appear in an Italian court on charges of facilitating illegal entry into the country. They could all face 20 years behind bars. Listen to her story!
Ong, i volontari di Iuventa alla sbarra: Rischiamo 20 anni di carcere, ma non fermeranno la solidarietà
Alla vigilia del primo grande processo alle organizzazioni umanitarie accusate di favoreggiamento dell’immigrazione clandestina che si apre sabato a Trapani, grande mobilitazione della flotta umanitaria e della società civile.
The Civil Fleet Podcast Episode 2: Criminalised for saving lives
In this episode Sascha – a former head of operations on the Iuventa – tells us what it was like working on the ship and how Italy’s far right movement got the intelligence services to spy on their activities and how the cops seized the ship.
The Crime of Rescue – The Iuventa case
an investigation by Forensic Oceanography and Forensic Architecture
Researchers have analysed exclusive video and photo material, Iuventa logbooks, GPS coordinates and weather data after the seizure of the ship. In this video, they refute the argumentation of Italian police in the Iuventa case: There is no evidence for a collusion of crew and smugglers.
Salvini’s Spy on the Mediterranean
ZEIT Online (German)
In 2019, the man who first reported Iuventa rescue missions to the Italian police, tells ZEIT ONLINE reporters: “I never witnessed the NGOs collaborating with the traffickers. That was always just a hunch.” First appearence of Pietro Gallo, once seen as main witness against us, in international media.