‘Death’ of human rights
In true activist style, members of NGOs whose migrant rescue ships are impounded in Malta yesterday held a mock funeral and symbolically buried European human rights in a coffin. The demo was held before the court case brought against MV Lifeline captain Claus-Peter Reisch resumed.
Activists held a mock funeral procession through Valetta and symbolically buried European human rights in a coffin ahead of yesterday’s sitting in the case brought against the captain of a migrant rescue ship.
Claus-Peter Reisch, 57, born in Munich, Germany, as captain of the MV Lifeline, stands accused of entering Maltese territorial waters illegally and without proper registration and a licence.
“Today marks almost two months of disgraceful behaviour by Malta and other European states, which is costing more lives every day,” a statement by Sea-Watch read.
“Captain Claus-Peter Reisch of Mission Lifeline saved 235 lives during a rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea and is now being accused of doing so without the the ship being correctly registered. Previous investigations have failed to support this claim, and we contest this attack as shameless political scapegoating in response to sea rescue NGOs highlighting failures in the EU’s migration priorities and policies. It is evident that Malta is attempting to make an example of the Lifeline, to keep NGOs from rescuing others.”
“Another clear indication of this strategy is the fact that the SeaWatch 3 and the reconnaissance airplane Moonbird are also still being detained in Malta without any legal grounds. In doing so, the Maltese government is leaving people to drown in the Mediterranean Sea and is responsible for every death that occurs while rescue NGOs remain chained in its ports.”
“Nobody would stop the fire brigade from extinguishing a fire on land because someone thinks that maybe the licence plate could be the wrong one,” said Pia Klemp, the Sea-Watch 3’s captain.
“Captain Reisch did what everybody else would do and what is his moral and legal duty - he did not stand by while people were drowning in front of him. While European politicians have looked the other way for years now, we demand nothing but to follow the most basic principle that human dignity and the equal value of life are inviolable.”
“We held this funeral to mark the death of human rights in Malta. This one funeral is merely a drop in the ocean compared to over 1,500 deaths that have occurred in the Mediterranean since January, of those fleeing in search of safety,” the statement read.
Yesterday’s court sitting lasted only a few minutes. Inspector Daryl Borg, prosecuting, told the court that rogatory letters sent to the Dutch ship registration authorities had been returned because they had been sent on the wrong forms.
The Office of the Attorney General would have to re-send them, he explained.
Magistrate Joe Mifsud, presiding over the case, expressed his disappointment over the waste of time. He said it was not right that the captain had to attend court hearings, travelling to and fro from Germany, for nothing.
Lawyer Cedric Mifsud, appearing for the captain, said the Lifeline was being held in port at great expense while the court case dragged on.
The magistrate asked the prosecution to inform the court once the letters had arrived and apologised to the captain, saying he was embarrassed by this situation.
The case would have otherwise been settled in two weeks, the magistrate said.
AG reaction
The Office of the Attorney General wishes to clarify that the letter of request in question was sent to it by the Court of Magistrates in terms of Article 399 of the Criminal Code for onward forwarding to the competent Dutch judicial authorities. The said request was forwarded by the Office of the Attorney General to the competent Dutch judicial authorities immediately.
On their part, the Dutch judicial authorities, upon receipt, informed the Office of the Attorney General that since the introduction of the European Investigation Order (EIO), the national law of the Netherlands (not EU law) had been amended such that the competent authorities there now only accepted EIOs and not letters of request from EU states. The Dutch authorities, therefore, requested the Maltese authorities to send the request in the format of a European Investigation Order. The Maltese authorities took immediate action to comply with the requests of the Dutch judicial authorities in order to ensure the swiftness of the criminal proceedings in Malta.
It is worth noting that such occurrences are not at all uncommon when national laws vary and that since the adoption of the EIO framework decision, the Maltese authorities themselves still receive and send numerous letters of request from or to other EU member states and all of them are executed.