ROME — The head of a Spanish aid group said Monday he fears human-trafficking charges will be brought against his staff after they refused to hand over rescued migrants to the Libyan coast guard during a tense high-seas standoff and then took them to Italy.
Proactiva Open Arms founder and director Oscar Camps told reporters in Barcelona, Spain, that Italy has impounded his organization’s rescue boat Open Arms, and he is worried the ship might not be returned.
“This is no joke,” Camps said. His organization is based in Barcelona.
The case comes amid strong reluctance in Italy to take in any more migrants whom human traffickers launch in unseaworthy boats from Libya and other North African shores. International efforts have been increasingly aimed at stemming the migrant flow across the Mediterranean.
The rescue vessel was sequestered by Italy on Sunday in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo, a day after it docked and the rescued migrants went ashore.
Italian authorities said they are investigating the rescue group for suspected criminal association and aiding illegal immigration.
Proactiva said the investigation stems from the group’s refusal Thursday to hand over to Libya’s coast guard 218 migrants it had just saved in international waters 70 nautical miles from the Libyan coast.
Camps said as the Libyan coast guard approached, some migrants panicked and began screaming and jumped from their boat into the sea. The Libyan coast guard was “very aggressive” toward the Open Arms crew, Camps said, adding that his organization had “a legal duty” to save the migrants in the sea.
The aid group spent three hours negotiating with the Libyans, Camps said. In the meantime, a vessel sent by Maltese authorities evacuated a critically ill 3-month-old baby and its mother.
Camps said the crew contacted the Spanish and Italian navies but got no help from them.
On Friday evening, the Italian coast guard said it gave the Spanish boat permission to dock in Pozzallo, given the poor condition of the migrants and the worsening weather at sea.
Trying to stem the flow of migrants toward its shores, Italy has supplied Libya with patrol boats and training. Critics say the plan enriches the unreliable Libyan coast guard and sends vulnerable migrants back into slavelike conditions in Libya.
Italy, whose efforts have been backed by the European Union, says it is working with U.N. authorities to ensure humane conditions in Libya for the migrants, many of whom are kept as virtual prisoners and who cite inadequate food, unsanitary living conditions, sexual assault, beatings and other forms of torture while awaiting the chance to be smuggled out by boat.