Seized the Aquarius ship di Medici Without borders for presumed illicit drainage of hazardous waste



The Aquarius ship of the not governmental organization Doctors Without borders, currently in the port of Marseilles, has been mail under pre-emptive seizure as a result of an investigation lead from Customs corps and Police and coordinated from the Procura of Catania that would have assessed an illicit digestion in 11 Italian ports (Trapani, Pozzallo, Augusta, Catania and Messina in Sicily, Vibo Valentia, Reggio Calabria and Corigliano Calabro in Calabria, Naples and Salerno in Campania, Brindisi in Apulia) of 24 thousand kilograms of refusals, between hazardous waste to infectious risk, sanitary and not, disembarked is from the Aquarius that they give the Vos Prudence, another ship employed from Ong. They are altogether the 24 inquired ones.

"We condemn with force the decision of the Italian judicial authorities to seize the Aquarius ship for presumed irregularity in the edge waste disposal. A disproportionate and instrumental, stiff measure to criminalize for the umpteenth one turns the action dress-humanitarian in sea", Karline Kleijer has said, in charge of the emergencies for Doctors Without borders, commenting the announcement of the seizure of the ship. "After two years of judicial investigations, bureaucratic, discrediting obstacles and never accusations of collusion with the dealers of men confirmed - it has denounced - now are accused to take part of a finalized criminal organization to the traffic of refusals. It is the end, alarming attempt at all costs to stop our activity of search and aid in sea".

"The provision of seizure of the Aquarius, that it comprises also some our banks account - has specified MSF - drift from a long investigation of the Procura of Catania on the edge waste disposal, with particular reference to the cloths of the migrants aids, to the alimentary refuse and the refusals of our medical activities. But all our operations in port, comprised the management of the refusals, have always followed procedures standard. The competent authorities have not contested these procedures neither characterized some public health hazard from when we have started the activities in sea in 2015".

The not governmental organization has restated the "full availability to collaborate with the Italian authorities, "but - it has specified MSF - we contest the reconstruction of the Procura and reject the accusation categorically to have organized any finalized illicit activity to the illicit traffic of refusals. After appraisal of I decree of seizure and analysis internal, that she demonstrates as the accusations are inaccurate and misleading, we will introduce resorted to the Court of the re-examination".

"We are ready - it has emphasized general manager MSF Italy, Gabriele Eminente - to clarify the facts and to answer of the procedures that we have followed, but reaffirm with force legitimacy and the legality of our humanitarian action. The only crime that we see today in the Mediterranean is the dismantling total of the system of search and aid, with people who continue to leave without more humanitarian ships to save their lives, while who survives to the sea she is brought back to the nightmare of the detainment in Libya, without some consideration of the marine international law and the refugees".

Doctors Without borders have remembered that, with five active humanitarian ships in three years of operations in sea, the organization has aid beyond 80.000 people in coordination with the marine authorities and the respect of the national and international laws. The Ong has remembered moreover that the ship Aquarius, the only one remained with on board a medical team of MSF, today is blocked in the port of Marseilles "after two revocations of the flag in two months, for concerted political pressures".