Questions about the case of the Mare Jonio rescue ship, operated by the humanitarian rescue organization Mediterranea Saving Humans, are on going in the Italian parliament. The organization asked the Italian government for help in early April, after they say their ship was fired upon by a Libyan coast guard vessel in international waters.

The crew of the Mare Jonio had been carrying out a rescue when the incident happened, they say.

Matteo Piantedosi's latest statements, during a parliamentary question session, come after he first presented a reconstruction of the case on April 11 in Italy's upper house, the Senate.

Reconstruction of events 'made on the basis of official reports'

"The reconstruction of events relative to rescue operations involving the Libyan patrol boat Fezzan and the private vessel Mare Jonio, which I provided on April 11 to the Senate, was made - and I reiterate this once more - on the basis of official reports from the relevant authorities," explained Piantedosi on April 24.

In response to questions raised about his account by the opposition in parliament, Piantedosi added: "It could not and cannot be otherwise, since when a ministry reports in parliament, they are held to provide a cognitive framework within the reality of the facts themselves and not 'imaginative reconstructions'," he stressed.

In mid-April, Piantedosi was accused by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans of having presented a "false account" to parliament. The NGO put out a video in an effort to demonstrate their version of events.

Piantedosi replied last week: "It is worrisome that ideological opposition on a theme of such essential importance as migration can lead to the mystification of the facts."

Ship detained, 'on the basis of law' states Piantedosi

In the Mare Jonio case, Piantedosi said, "we limited ourselves to the technical and operational information provided by the authorities that worked in different phases during the rescue at sea. And it was on the basis of the behavior by the Mare Ionio ship's crew that sanctions were applied by the authorities in line with the Decree Law 1, 2023 and that the boat was detained."

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He stressed that the judicial authorities had been immediately informed of all details."Rescues at sea are a delicate and complex activity that have their own rules to comply with since every form of spontaneity or disorder, in such a context, could affect the main need to safeguard the life and wellbeing of people," the minister said.

On April 29, the Italian Interior Ministry released a press statement with a reprint of an interview Piantedosi granted to the newspaper La Stampa at the weekend. During the interview, he was asked about the Mare Jonio affair. He responded: "I have already spoken about this twice in Parliament and both times provided all the elements we have to reconstruct what happened. What I said is based on official acts and not on 'fantasy versions'. It is not a noble thing to do to try and twist facts and events, even less so when we are talking about saving the lives of people."

'We counter irregular immigration and implement humanitarian corridors'

"It is to this need that the regulatory framework introduced by the government responds, in disciplining rescue interventions that private vessels at times take part in, often not in Italian international waters, and which thus must be subject to coordination from the states whose responsibility they are under, in line with specific regulatory orders of those very international conventions that are often invoked" he added.

Piantedosi then went on to reiterate his government's migration policy, saying: "We are firmly involved in efforts to counter irregular immigration and the shameful trafficking of migrants. At the same time, we support the implementation of humanitarian corridors and legal channels for entrance. I reiterate that the government's approach on migration issues is based on an essential requirement: compliance with regulations and protecting human lives."