Doctors Without Borders said that irregular migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea suffered physical or psychological violence during their journey and detention, and accused Italy of restricting the work of saving immigrants.
The organization stated that this restriction led to a decrease in the number of migrants that the “Geo Partner” ship managed to save them in 2024 to 2278, after it rescued 4,646 people during 2023.
The organization considered that the organized deportation of search and rescue ships from the middle Mediterranean Sea It means cutting a “life artery from the survivors fleeing the terrible violence in Libya“.
Despite the registered decline in 2024, the report confirmed that the number of medical referrals increased by 14%, and explained that a greater percentage of survivors were in critical condition and needed specialized care on land.
Physical and psychological violence
According to the organization’s medical data, all 124 patients who were presented to the psychiatrist aboard the “Geo Partner” in 2024 reported that they were subjected to physical or psychological violence during their journey, and almost half of them indicated that the detention was the main framework in which this violence occurred. “
Juan Matthias Khail, representative of the organization’s search and rescue department, said that the “Baytidosi” decree represents an “unprecedented and institutional and institutional mechanism to obstruct civil rescue activities.” He added that the impact of these sanctions exacerbated with the passage of time, and the ability of our ship “Jio Partner” to rescue “systematically”.
Khail pointed out that the certificates and data collected by the organization throughout these years show “collusion between Italy And the European Union On the one hand, the Libyan Coast Guard and other armed bodies on the other hand, in the objection and return of persons to the cycle of exploitation and violence in Libya.
Testimonies
The report included testimonies from immigrants who managed to escape from Libya, documenting objections described as “violent they were exposed to at sea”, and they were forcibly returned to Libya as part of systematic European efforts to prevent their arrival in the old continent.
The report also documents more than two years of work under the Italian laws and policies, especially the “Baytidosi” decree and the exercise of the appointment of far -long anchor ports, and eventually led to the organization’s decision to end its operations in December 2024.
And demanded Doctors Without Borders The Italian authorities to stop obstructing the rescue operations in the sea and imposing sanctions on the ships of NGOs, and also called on the European Union and its member states to immediately stop the financial and material support provided to the Libyan Coast Guard and stop facilitating the forced return to Libya.