Jugend Rettet on Tuesday failed in
a bid to get Italy's supreme Court of Cassation to release the
Iuventa, a ship the German-based NGO uses for migrant
search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
The vessel was impounded in August 2017 in the Sicilian port
of Trapani in relation to a probe into the alleged aiding of
illegal migration via cooperation with human traffickers.
"We are devastated by the Court's ruling of today," Jugend
Rettet said via Twitter:
"The IUVENTA will not be free! But we will fight for the
right to rescue of people in distress at sea".
Medical-aid NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also expressed
"dismay".
"This sends a worrying signal to #humanitarian organisations
preventing #refugees and #migrants from drowning in
#Mediterranean," MSF said.
"Saving lives is not a crime!".
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