73 dead in shipwreck off Libya, as Italy’s parliament makes it harder for rescuers to save lives

Meanwhile, two rescue ships forced to disembark rescued in ports hundreds of miles away AT LEAST 73 people have been reported missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off the Libyan coast, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced today, as Italy‘s parliament made it harder for rescue ships to save lives. “The boat, carrying

Rescuers disembark people the Italian government would have left to drown

THE CREW of a charity-run refugee rescue ship disembarked over 230 people at a port in north-west Italy today. The Geo Barents, a vessel run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), initially saved 69 people, including 25 minors, from an overcrowded rubber boat in international waters off the coast of Libya on Tuesday. Prior to this

Greek prosecutors drop charges against refugee rescuers

Defendants and activists say victory is only partial as some indictments remain THE DISMISSAL of all misdemeanour charges against 24 refugee rescuers in Greece today is but a partial victory, the defendants and fellow activists said, as some felony charges still remain. The activists, who volunteered with Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), had been accused

Greek court to rule on ‘farcical’ charges against refugee rescuers this week

Meanwhile, two Mediterranean rescue ships carrying 110 refugees struggle through high waves and 40-knot winds after Italy forces them to sail over 1,000km to safety A COURT in Greece is to decide later this week whether to drop the “farcical” charges against 24 refugee rescuers after the trial today was postponed to Friday, following procedural

Rescuers relieved after France provides port, but angered by ‘dire ordeal’ they have been put through

Three-week journey almost over for the 230 remaining survivors aboard the Ocean Viking IT WAS with a mixture of relief and anger that rescuers welcomed the news today that they had finally been given permission to disembark over 200 refugees in a safe port. The Ocean Viking rescue ship is heading to Toulon, southern France,

Italy’s far-right government accused of causing further harm to the traumatised refugees on two rescue ships

• Survivors on the Humanity 1 and Geo Barents begin hunger strike in protest against government’s mistreatment • Mission Lifeline disembarks 95 people in southern Italy • Ocean Viking declares emergency and heads to France • Inadequate translations postpone Iuventa pretrial again ITALY’S far-right government is causing further harm to people already traumatised, human rights

Rescuers launch legal action against Italy’s far-right government after it refuses to allow all survivors to come ashore

Humanity 1 and Geo Barents left waiting in port with survivors still on board as over 300 refugees remain at sea on the Rise Above and Ocean Viking AN ACTIVIST-RUN search-and-rescue organisation announced today that it is taking legal action again the Italian government after it refused to allow 35 people rescued in the Mediterranean

Rescuers call on France, Spain and Greece for help as Italy continues to deny safety to 985 refugees

Meanwhile, the Rise Above saves 77 more lives in the Mediterranean as Sea-Watch proclaims new ship a ‘strong symbol against fascism’ RESCUERS called on the maritime authorities in France, Spain and Greece for help today as Italy and Malta continued to refuse to deny safety to 985 people on three NGO ships off their coasts.

Italian and Maltese authorities refuse to allow over 980 people to come ashore

The Ocean Viking, Humanity 1 and Geo Barents rescue ships are kept waiting days after rescues OVER 980 people, including hundreds of children, on three activist-run rescue ships have been waiting for days for the Italian maritime authorities to allow them to come ashore. The three ships — the Humanity 1, the Ocean Viking, and

Seven years since Alan Kurdi’s tragic death, the Mediterranean and Aegean seas have become a mass graveyard

Activist tell The Civil Fleet how the situation for the people at Fortress Europe’s walls has only got worse since the two-year-old boy’s lifeless body was seen across the world IN THE seven years since the tragic death of the two-year-old Syrian-Kurdish boy Alan Kurdi, the Mediterranean and Aegean seas have become a mass graveyard,