Italy- A slippery Slope For Human Rights: The Iuventa Case
Date of Publication
2021 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Human Rights
Keywords
Human Rights, right to life, right to seek asylym, human rights, human right defenders, humanitarian assistance, Italy
Description
In January 2021, prosecutors of the Tribunal of Trapani, Sicily, closed a nearly five year-long investigation and accused 21 people, a shipping company and two NGOs of collusion in human smuggling. Among the accused, 16 had worked on the Iuventa, Vos Hestia and Vos Prudence rescue ships, operated by NGOs Jugend Rettet, Save The Children International (STC), and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) between 2016 and 2017. In the following weeks, it emerged that during the long investigation the police had wiretapped several journalists, their sources, and confidential communications between lawyers and defendants. The transcripts of all these conversations had been included in the investigation file, despite concerns they could constitute inadmissible evidence. The revelation raised concerns about violations of national and international laws protecting journalists’ sources and communications between lawyers and their clients. As a result, the Minister of Justice opened an internal investigation.
Italy- A slippery Slope For Human Rights: The Iuventa Case
In January 2021, prosecutors of the Tribunal of Trapani, Sicily, closed a nearly five year-long investigation and accused 21 people, a shipping company and two NGOs of collusion in human smuggling. Among the accused, 16 had worked on the Iuventa, Vos Hestia and Vos Prudence rescue ships, operated by NGOs Jugend Rettet, Save The Children International (STC), and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) between 2016 and 2017. In the following weeks, it emerged that during the long investigation the police had wiretapped several journalists, their sources, and confidential communications between lawyers and defendants. The transcripts of all these conversations had been included in the investigation file, despite concerns they could constitute inadmissible evidence. The revelation raised concerns about violations of national and international laws protecting journalists’ sources and communications between lawyers and their clients. As a result, the Minister of Justice opened an internal investigation.
