On December 7, a court in Vibo Valentia in Italy's southern region of Calabria decided to retrospectively annull the Italian state's decision to seize the migrant rescue vessel Sea-Eye 4, which had been subjected to a 20-day administrative detention in October 2023, after rescuing people at sea.

The ship's crew, the NGO said, had refused to obey Italian instructions to obey the Libyan coast guard, for fear of being subjected to violence by them. This refusal was later deemed by the Italian state to have disobeyed the rules governing the Libyan search and rescue zone in which they found themselves at the time of the rescue.

The rescue operation on October 27, 2023, ended up rescuing about 50 people. However, the crew noted, due to "several dangerous maneuvers by Libyan-flagged ships, four of the people seeking refuge on the dinghy were able to be recovered only after they had died."

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Coast Guard orders incompatible with international law

The ruling, by judge Ida Cuffaro, underscored that "following the instructions of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard would not have been compatible with international law".

The ruling went on to confirm the account from the Sea-Eye 4 crew which insisted that the Libyan Coast Guard was not coordinating a rescue, but had simply demanded the NGO leave the rescue area without providing any indication of ways to conduct the rescue operation and make sure people reached safety.

Radio Radicale journalist Sergio Scandura reported:"There is no sign in the documents of the Libyan authorities who intervened on the scene to coordinate the rescue operations having made known a safe place to bring the survivors to," he added.

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Judge underscored duty to rescue at sea

In upholding the appeal filed by the lawyers of the NGO Dario Belluccio, Daniele Valeri, and Lidia Vicchio, the Vibo Valentia court ruled against the administrative detention ordered by the interior ministry and ordered that 10,860 euros be paid for the expenses incurred.

"Yet again Italian courts have ruled against Italian policies and administrative procedures," said Sea-Eye president Gorden Isler. "This ruling is a general success because the judge did not focus on procedural issues but instead underscored the obligation to rescue [people] at sea, clarifying that no one should drown in the Mediterranean."