Tag: Missions

  • The rescue on an oil platform marks the most critical moment of Mission 118.

    The rescue on an oil platform marks the most critical moment of Mission 118.

    Central Mediterranean, June 2025 – Mission 118 of the humanitarian organization Open Arms, carried out by the sailing vessel Astral, has come to an end after completing three rescue operations that helped protect the lives of 169 people at sea, including women, children, and two newborns. Three interventions under extreme conditions that once again draw attention to a migration route as deadly as it is forgotten.

    The first rescue took place on May 31, after the Seabird aircraft (Sea-Watch) spotted a drifting boat carrying 29 Eritrean nationals, adrift and without any means of protection. The crew of the Astral provided life jackets and assisted the castaways until their safe transfer to the competent authorities.

    The second operation was launched on the night of June 5, in the Libyan SAR zone. Aboard a precarious boat, without water, food, or fuel, were 86 people — including 8 women, 10 children, and a babyafter drifting for two days. Alerted via radio, the Open Arms teams carried out an emergency rescue, including interventions in the water, and provided immediate care to the rescued individuals.

    The most critical rescue took place between June 7 and 8, when a joint alert from Alarm Phone and Seabird guided the Astral to an abandoned oil platform. There, 54 people — including 5 women, 2 children, and 2 newborns — had managed to take refuge after a shipwreck. One of the women gave birth on the platform itself, without medical assistance, after being trapped for more than three days in extreme conditions. All were successfully evacuated and received care on board.

    With 169 lives protected, Mission 118 once again highlights the urgent need for an effective, coordinated, and human rights-centered search and rescue system. In the absence of institutional responses, civil society continues to fill an unacceptable void.

  • On December 20, the Palermo Court will issue a verdict in the trial against Matteo Salvini.

    On December 20, the Palermo Court will issue a verdict in the trial against Matteo Salvini.

    The former Minister of the Interior and current Minister of Transport is accused of kidnapping and failing to perform official acts, after having prevented the disembarkation of 147 people, including minors, rescued by the NGO Open Arms in three rescue operations in August 2019 for 19 days.

    The Palermo Prosecutor’s Office requested 6 years in prison for the accused, in addition to accessory penalties, during the hearing on September 14, 2024. The request is addressed to the current Deputy Prime Minister, who at the time was head of the Ministry of the Interior, and is accused of the events related to the 65th mission of the NGO Open Arms in August 2019.

    The legal case began in November 2019, when the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office asked the Palermo Court’s College for Ministerial Offenses to open an investigation against Senator Matteo Salvini, then Minister of the Interior, based on information obtained from the Agrigento Prosecutor’s Office. The investigations revolve around several accusations arising from the events of August of that year, related to the disembarkation of migrants of different nationalities rescued aboard the Open Arms.

    This is a unique process of its kind, since for the first time in the history of the Italian Republic, a minister is indicted for actions taken in the exercise of his office. The Palermo prosecutors have requested that the defendant be held criminally responsible for the crimes of kidnapping and omission of official acts, arguing that there was a “willful and conscious disregard for the rules and a deliberate and voluntary denial of personal liberty to 147 people.”

    The verdict is expected on December 20 in Palermo, where the final hearing of the first instance trial will take place at the Casa Circondariale “Pagliarelli” court. Oscar Camps, founder of the NGO Open Arms, lawyer Arturo Salerni, and Marc Reig Creus, captain of the Open Arms during the 65th mission in 2019, will be present.

    Acceso al Informe completo del proceso judicial contra Matteo Salvini

    Badalona a 10 de diciembre, 2024

     

    Laura Lanuza
    DPTO PRENSA OPEN ARMS  +34 649869001 – laura@openarms.es