The German aid organization Sea-Watch has called the European Court of Human Rights for its blocked rescue ship. „We have on behalf of the crew and a rescued (…) started an urgent procedure,“ said spokesman Ruben Neugebauer last night.
The „Sea-Watch 3“ had rescued 47 people from Libya about ten days ago and is now waiting on the Sicilian coast of things. Italy refuses to allow the ship to operate.
Nobody wants to let ship
„We can no longer accept that the European states jointly break the law of the sea, and we can not accept that sea rescue is made dependent on EU negotiations,“ said Neugebauer to dpa. More details on the procedure before the Court will be announced tomorrow.
The Italian Government, in turn, stated that the jurisdiction was with the Netherlands because the vessel was flying the Dutch flag. They offer a „humanitarian corridor“ to bring people to the Netherlands, it said in a statement.
The „Sea-Watch 3“ had after the inclusion of people not Tunisia headed for „safe haven“, but a „hundreds of miles long drive“ in the direction of Italy and so the people on board at risk. „The final question is: was Sea-Watch’s goal to rescue the migrants and provide them with quick protection in the first safe haven or to create an international case to attract mass media attention?“ It said continue.
