Activists working with sea-rescue charities in Italy should not be criminalized, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday, ahead of a trial against crew members from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Preliminary criminal proceedings opened last May in Sicily against 21 people charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration in connection with several search-and-rescue missions conducted between 2016 and 2017.
Those accused include four crew members of the Iuventa, a former fishing trawler credited with saving some 14,000 migrant lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and human rights activists from other civilian vessels.
The ongoing proceedings are “a darkening stain on Italy and the EU’s commitment to human rights”, said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
“They are being criminalised for their human rights work. Saving lives is not a crime and solidarity is not smuggling.”
Ms. Lawlor has engaged with the authorities on the issue.
She noted that the proceedings have been plagued by procedural violations, including failure to provide adequate interpretation for non-Italian defendants, and translation of key documents.
Last month, the Italian Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Interior applied to join the case as plaintiffs, seeking compensation for damage claimed to have been caused by the alleged crimes.
“States that respect human rights promote the work of human rights defenders,” said Ms. Lawlor.
“The Government’s decision to seek to join the case goes directly against this principle – it is a very disturbing sign.”