Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced that it will appeal against the administrative detention of its search and rescue vessel, the Geo Barents.

"We will appeal with the relevant court against these new administrative detentions," said the charity's Head of Mission, Juan Matias Gil.

"The more Italian courts pronounce sentences in favor of humanitarian ships, the more the Italian government imposes arbitrary administrative detentions," he continued.

"This is unacceptable for a country where the rule of law exists."

The Geo Barents ship was issued with two detention orders after it arrived in Genoa with 206 migrants rescued in the Central Mediterranean on board.

Also read: NGOs condemn escalating administrative stops of rescue ships in Italy

Reasons for the detention

The first administrative detention order of 60 days was issued under the so called Piantedosi (Italy's minister of Interior) Decree and is based on the recurring accusation of not having abided by the instructions received by the Libyan coast guard during the rescue operation that took place on September 19.

The second order, issued on September 23, followed a detailed inspection of the ship by the Port State Control (PSC), which found deficiencies in technical standards in eight different areas.

The NGO said with regard to the first detention, "the Libyan coast guard patrol boat arrived when we had nearly concluded the rescue operation, over five hours after the first warning of people in danger. They arrived, they threatened to shoot, and conducted unsafe and threatening maneuvers intended to intimidate the persons in danger and the rescue staff."

On the second detention, it said, "Our ship had just completed the previous inspections. With this one, there seems to have been the intention of making sure that we could not return to the sea soon. We are acting to rapidly resolve these lacking aspects, and to return to the sea to avoid additional deaths."

Also read: Geo Barents ship of MSF faces 2-month detention at Salerno port

The accusations of MSF

Fulvia Conte, responsible for the search and rescue of MSF, said the inspections were an additional level of "administrative excuses and technical laws and regulations that authorities used over the last seven years to complicate and stop the work of ships that conduct search and rescue humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean."

According to Juan Matias Gil, MSF is regularly told by rescued migrants about the violent interception actions that take place at sea by the Libyan coast guard.

"It was documented not only by the United Nations, but also by independent investigative journalism, that the Libyan coast guard is responsible for grave violations of human rights which are comparable to crimes against humanity, and collusion with human traffickers," Gil said. "It is shameful that Italian authorities still consider the Libyan Coast Guard as an actor and reliable source of information."