Dear friends of Sea-Eye,
Today we set sail again with the SEA-EYE 4 from the port of Taranto! We had sat out the longest detention ever imposed under the Piantedosi Decree - 60 days. Despite all the measures taken by the Italian government to hinder our work in the Mediterranean, we will continue with determination. Our special thanks go to all those who are standing by our side: More than 15,000 people have signed our #FreeTheShips petition. Together, we are now going full speed ahead on the next rescue mission!
Your support is incredibly important to us. The Piantedosi Decree, introduced at the beginning of 2023, is making our work much more difficult. It has already led to numerous sea rescue ships being detained. At the same time, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), more than 730 people have drowned or disappeared in the Mediterranean so far in 2024.
Every single person who has died had family and friendships, and every death makes us incredibly sad. That is why we are fighting back and have filed a lawsuit against the detention. In initial proceedings, the allegations that we had not followed the instructions of the so-called Libyan coastguard were deemed not proven by the presiding judge. However, the final decision in the main proceedings is still pending.
We will continue to fight to send our rescue ship into operation. Because nothing less than the human right to life is at stake.
Thank you very much for supporting us!
Julie Schweickert, Sea rescuer at Sea-Eye e. V.