0:00:00.099,0:00:16.000 34C3 preroll music 0:00:16.000,0:00:19.280 Herald Angel: And I'm very happy to have 2[br]speakers here who 0:00:19.280,0:00:23.770 will tell us about their[br]experiences on the Iuventa, the ship that 0:00:23.770,0:00:30.330 was seized in august this year. Kathrin[br]has been doing search and rescue 0:00:30.330,0:00:37.460 operations in the mediteranean since 2[br]years, and she was on board when the boat 0:00:37.460,0:00:43.620 was seized, when the Iuventa was seized,[br]and she was even Head of Staff. Hendrik 0:00:43.620,0:00:48.329 has also been active in such a rescue[br]operation as a RHIB 0:00:48.329,0:00:50.499 chuckles[br]Voice-over: driver 0:00:50.499,0:00:55.969 Herald Angel: RHIBer, which is a kind of[br]special function, and he has also been 0:00:55.969,0:01:02.589 doing this for 2 years approximately, for[br]different NGOs. And I am very happy that 0:01:02.589,0:01:09.880 they are here and can tell us about what[br]happend on the Iuventa. So, we have 0:01:09.880,0:01:18.580 translation to German on the Mumble that[br]is in the back now, and yeah, please 0:01:18.580,0:01:22.409 welcome them to the big applause, thank[br]you. 0:01:22.409,0:01:30.540 applause[br]Hendrik: Hello. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for the 0:01:30.540,0:01:39.229 introduction. Hello everybody. Welcome to[br]the talk "The Seizure of the Iuventa". We 0:01:39.229,0:01:44.850 are glad that a few people made it here.[br]When we actually planned for the talk we 0:01:44.860,0:01:48.839 were planning for one hour, so we put a[br]lot of content in the description and it 0:01:48.839,0:01:54.370 was only two weeks ago that we learned we[br]only have half an hour so we were really 0:01:54.370,0:01:59.799 pressed to focus a bit. So. Yeah what I[br]will do is I will give you a quick 0:01:59.799,0:02:04.609 introduction into the area we operate in[br]which is the central Mediterranean. I will 0:02:04.609,0:02:10.840 tell you what we do there. And after that[br]Kathrin will talk about the actual seizure 0:02:10.840,0:02:14.510 of the Iuventa. So this is Kathrin, I'm[br]Hendrik obviously, I think you already 0:02:14.510,0:02:22.930 noticed that. So yeah I like maps. So I[br]put this map in the slides. So, migration 0:02:22.930,0:02:29.840 is happening we all know that. And people[br]are trying to reach Europe for, yeah in 0:02:29.840,0:02:33.980 search of a better and safer life. So the[br]reasons why they are fleeing are very 0:02:33.980,0:02:40.200 different. There are war, violence,[br]discrimination, prosecution, or poverty. 0:02:40.200,0:02:46.310 They all have their reasons to leave their[br]homes. So what we see here is the routes 0:02:46.310,0:02:50.140 these refugees take are constantly[br]changing and that is due to changing 0:02:50.140,0:02:56.970 political circumstances. We have different[br]routes through the Mediterranean. For a 0:02:56.970,0:03:01.580 while now we have the eastern route that[br]was quite famous two years ago when a lot 0:03:01.580,0:03:05.720 of people tried to cross the Mediterranean[br]from Turkey to Greece. That was basically 0:03:02.980,0:03:11.660 closed. We had the western route like 10,[br]15 years ago. A lot of people tried to 0:03:11.660,0:03:17.920 cross it from Morocco to Spain or to the[br]Canary Islands. And at the moment we 0:03:17.920,0:03:21.570 mainly are focusing on the central[br]Mediterranean route, that is where all the 0:03:21.570,0:03:25.820 migration, or most of the migration is[br]happening. People are trying to cross 0:03:25.820,0:03:32.720 mainly from Libya, which is the brown spot[br]at the bottom, to Italy. In the last 0:03:32.720,0:03:36.920 couple of months there also were people[br]trying to cross from Tunisia, but still 0:03:36.920,0:03:45.340 the main part of the migration is[br]happening through Libya. So to give you a 0:03:45.340,0:03:49.980 better understanding about what we are[br]talking here, we draw you a map with some 0:03:49.980,0:03:55.320 distances on it. The distances are given[br]in nautical miles. That is the unit we use 0:03:55.320,0:04:02.531 at sea. Just to give you an example: Under[br]perfect conditions, a refugee boat that 0:04:02.531,0:04:08.920 would leave Libya would take at least 3[br]days to Lampedusa, more than 4 days to 0:04:08.920,0:04:13.590 Malta, and more than 5,5 days to Sicily.[br]That would be under perfect conditions 0:04:13.590,0:04:18.580 that never exist. There are always waves.[br]There is the wind, the boats often don't 0:04:18.580,0:04:25.740 have a compass so they don't know where to[br]go. So in fact the only boat we know of 0:04:25.740,0:04:32.380 that really made it to Malta was underway[br]for 8 days. So the distances these people 0:04:32.380,0:04:42.830 have to cross, have to cover, are quite[br]long. So the classic boats we encounter on 0:04:42.830,0:04:48.030 that route, these type of boats, below you[br]see a wooden boat, these wooden boats have 0:04:48.030,0:04:57.320 really different sizes. They take from 100[br]up to 1000 people. Usually 500 people with 0:04:53.830,0:05:04.670 plus minus 100, but their fit up to 1000[br]people in them. And on the upper part you 0:05:04.670,0:05:11.590 see the typical boat that was used until[br]last summer. That is the rubber boat. 120 0:05:11.590,0:05:17.620 to 150 people usually fit in there. But we[br]also encountered boats with 180 people in 0:05:17.620,0:05:27.820 them. These conditions like these boats[br]and the long distance and these not 0:05:27.820,0:05:32.110 seaworthy boats of course make this route[br]the most dangerous route in the world. So 0:05:32.110,0:05:37.290 the most people trying to cross borders[br]are dying in the Mediterranean. You see 0:05:37.290,0:05:42.890 this statistics, they are from the Missing[br]Migrants Project. They only collect the 0:05:42.890,0:05:48.150 data off the known deaths. These are no[br]absolute numbers, it's just a relation. So 0:05:48.150,0:05:54.550 the big dark blue part is the relation of[br]the people dying in the Mediterranean 0:05:54.560,0:06:00.110 related to the rest of the world. So I[br]think you all see that the Mediterranean 0:06:00.110,0:06:04.580 is really really a dangerous route to[br]take. But still people are forced to take, 0:06:04.580,0:06:11.430 to use this route because Europe and their[br]allies are basically closing off the 0:06:11.430,0:06:18.340 shorter and safer routes. So the[br]international law states a duty to rescue 0:06:18.340,0:06:25.840 people in distress. We always have acted[br]and complied with these laws of the sea 0:06:25.840,0:06:31.610 and these international laws and we are[br]fulfilling a duty that usually is up to 0:06:31.610,0:06:35.160 the European Union but they are not[br]willing to do that. So the NGOs had to 0:06:35.160,0:06:42.740 step in to rescue these people. So the[br]region we are operating in ... 0:06:42.740,0:06:53.900 applause[br]Thanks. The region we are operating in is 0:06:53.900,0:07:03.720 also regulated by international laws. You[br]have Libya there of course the Libyan law 0:07:03.720,0:07:08.439 applies as well as in the C Zone on up to[br]the 12 mile line, which is the red line 0:07:08.439,0:07:13.410 you see there. This is also Libyan[br]territorial waters. And from the 12th mile 0:07:13.410,0:07:19.150 on it's basically international waters. We[br]have the so-called contiguous zone up to 0:07:19.150,0:07:25.149 24 miles, where the Libyan authorities[br]have certain law enforcement rights, but 0:07:25.149,0:07:30.570 it still is international waters. So the[br]blue shape you see is the Search and 0:07:30.570,0:07:35.959 Rescue Area where we find most of the[br]boats. And that is basically where we 0:07:35.959,0:07:43.580 operate up to the 12 mile line, we don't[br]cross the 12 mile line usually. So to be 0:07:43.580,0:07:50.290 able to conduct effective operations we[br]need of course to buy a ship, because 0:07:50.290,0:07:55.830 without a ship you cannot go there. So the[br]Iuventa was bought and the Iuventa was 0:07:55.830,0:08:01.930 sent to the area where most boats get in[br]distress. That means we are doing 0:08:01.930,0:08:07.220 proactive search and rescue. Proactive in[br]this case means we go there before boats 0:08:07.220,0:08:13.539 get in distress and actively search for[br]them. That is because ships move slowly so 0:08:13.539,0:08:15.500 we cannot wait on Malta until ships get 0:08:15.500,0:08:17.660 in distress, until boats get in distress 0:08:17.660,0:08:24.290 because it would take us 24 hours to get[br]there. So for us it is important to be 0:08:24.290,0:08:31.360 there when the people depart from shore,[br]because these boats you saw the pictures 0:08:31.360,0:08:35.698 on the slides before they are immediately[br]a distress case, as soon as they are in 0:08:35.698,0:08:39.989 the open sea, there's no discussion about[br]that. As soon as one of these overcrowded 0:08:39.989,0:08:45.699 boats is in the open sea they are a[br]distress case. They don't have to sink to 0:08:45.699,0:08:51.519 be a distress case. So we need to go there[br]before they depart to be able to help 0:08:48.509,0:08:56.570 immediately. The Iuventa is a very small[br]ship, you can see that it's only 33 metres 0:08:56.570,0:09:02.410 long. There's not much people fitting on[br]there and for transfer, it usually can 0:09:02.410,0:09:08.969 take only the crew. So we act as a first[br]response unit. When we find the boats in 0:09:08.969,0:09:14.380 distress, we secure them with life jackets[br]and life rafts. So we supply lifejackets 0:09:14.380,0:09:19.010 to the people on the boat and, if[br]necessary, bring out life rafts and 0:09:19.010,0:09:24.120 evacuate people on the life rafts. And[br]then call for bigger ships that transfer 0:09:24.120,0:09:30.220 them to Italy. You can see one of the[br]bigger ships here. It's the Vost Prudence. 0:09:30.220,0:09:35.549 It was used by MSF, it was chartered[br]basically, and this is a way bigger ship 0:09:35.549,0:09:41.059 and it can take way more people and it can[br]bring them safely to Italy. So these 0:09:41.059,0:09:46.989 transfers to these big ships we always do[br]in close cooperation with the Maritime 0:09:46.989,0:09:53.169 Rescue Coordination Center in Rome, the[br]so-called MRCC. The MRCC is responsible 0:09:53.169,0:09:59.389 for distress cases in that area. They[br]are there to coordinate the rescue 0:09:59.389,0:10:05.230 operations and they are always ordering[br]the transfer of the migrants. So whenever 0:10:05.230,0:10:09.700 we transferred migrants to one of these[br]big ships, the MRCC ordered us to do so, 0:10:09.700,0:10:16.269 we never did that on our own. But you have[br]to keep in mind: The MRCC is not an agency 0:10:16.269,0:10:21.509 that is acting independently. It basically[br]is a subordinate of the Interior Ministry 0:10:21.509,0:10:28.559 in Italy, so it is bound by instructions[br]to the Interior Ministry. You have to keep 0:10:25.418,0:10:35.369 that in mind for later when Kathrin is[br]telling you something. As I already said: 0:10:35.369,0:10:39.529 The Iuventa is not suited to transport[br]people to a place of safety. It is only 0:10:39.529,0:10:46.969 there to secure them. That was always[br]clearly communicated with the MRCC and we 0:10:46.969,0:10:51.760 always acted as a first responder, and[br]secured the situation. That was our job. 0:10:51.760,0:10:57.750 That is what we are good at. So this is[br]how we operated from the beginning, and 0:10:57.750,0:11:02.329 this is how we operated on another NGO[br]vessel I've been in 2016, the Minden. It 0:11:02.329,0:11:06.030 was the same case: We were there as a[br]first responder, we secured the people, 0:11:06.030,0:11:10.260 transferred them to bigger vessels, they[br]then brought them to Italy. This is also 0:11:10.260,0:11:15.830 how all the other NGOs working there[br]worked, like CI Sea-Watch, MSF, Safe the 0:11:15.830,0:11:19.800 Children, Moas Mission, Lifeline, and all[br]the other NGOs working there. We're not 0:11:19.810,0:11:27.299 alone there. And it was a successful,[br]proven concept. So just to tell it once 0:11:27.299,0:11:31.399 more: The concept is we have smaller[br]boats, staying there, securing the people, 0:11:31.399,0:11:35.409 and once they are secured we call for[br]bigger ships, call for help, transfer them 0:11:35.409,0:11:39.539 to these bigger ships, and they then bring[br]them to a place of safety, which usually 0:11:39.539,0:11:47.779 is Italy. But in May 2017 suddenly some[br]things started to change for the Iuventa. 0:11:47.779,0:11:51.390 Kathrin: Thank you. 0:11:51.390,0:11:59.210 One thing I may want to emphasize again [br]is that everything we did was always 0:11:59.210,0:12:04.850 under the coordination of the Rescue[br]Coordination Center in Rome in Italy and 0:12:04.850,0:12:11.230 up until then we really had a good working[br]relationship with them. We were conducting 0:12:11.230,0:12:17.359 successful and very efficient search[br]operations, rescue operations. Maybe a 0:12:17.359,0:12:24.289 little bit too efficient. So we can say a[br]chain of unusual events started in May 0:12:24.289,0:12:30.979 this year. And one situation I want to[br]talk about now is when we received 0:12:30.979,0:12:36.859 distress calls over the radio about[br]numerous migrant boats in distress in an 0:12:36.859,0:12:41.379 area we were in. And the other ships in[br]vicinity who had found those boats, they 0:12:41.379,0:12:49.419 called us and asked for our assistance to[br]rescue these people, and up until that not 0:12:49.419,0:12:56.289 an unusual situation. However all of a[br]sudden we were requested by the MRCC, the 0:12:56.289,0:13:01.449 coordination center in Rome, to withdraw[br]to leave the Search and Rescue Zone 0:13:01.449,0:13:09.689 immediately and to go to Lampedusa. So to[br]make that clear: We were ordered to ignore 0:13:09.689,0:13:18.009 distress calls of people at imminent, who[br]were at imminent threat of their life and 0:13:18.009,0:13:24.530 go away. This has never happened before[br]until then. So as you can imagine we were 0:13:24.530,0:13:35.380 torn back and forth whether we should[br]actually do that, or not. We were somewhat 0:13:35.380,0:13:41.139 obliged to follow their instructions but[br]it did mean obviously that we had to leave 0:13:41.139,0:13:47.919 people on these boats in distress behind.[br]And I can remember the persistent efforts 0:13:47.919,0:13:51.729 that day we were trying to make, and also[br]others were trying to make, to keep the 0:13:51.729,0:13:58.660 Iuventa in the SAR Zone for that, for that[br]situation. However, it did not work out, 0:13:58.660,0:14:07.379 they continued insisting. And finally we[br]had to give in, and proceed to Lampedusa. 0:14:07.379,0:14:11.210 Unfortunately, later we learned that those[br]two days when the Iuventa was absent, 0:14:11.210,0:14:19.329 which turned into one of the most busiest[br]rescue periods we had seen in 2017. Many 0:14:19.329,0:14:27.789 hundred people lost their lives and the[br]remaining capacities in the SAR Zone were 0:14:27.789,0:14:38.899 just way beyond their capacities. So this[br]very procedure continued twice: Once more 0:14:38.899,0:14:45.090 in May, and another time in June. And[br]again: Back then we were absolutely in the 0:14:45.090,0:14:50.720 dark as to what could possibly be the[br]motivation behind such instructions and we 0:14:50.720,0:14:55.890 realized something had changed, the good[br]working relationship with the MRCC for 0:14:55.890,0:15:00.800 some reason wasn't that good anymore. But[br]we did not understand what was going on, 0:15:00.800,0:15:09.389 why are they behaving like that. And I[br]mean we have to realise that: This is an 0:15:09.389,0:15:16.739 authority whose duty it is to coordinate[br]rescues at sea, and to save people's lives 0:15:16.739,0:15:23.869 at sea. And they are withdrawing and[br]actively reducing Search and Rescue ships 0:15:23.869,0:15:30.520 from where and when they're needed most.[br]We were utterly astonished, not to say, 0:15:30.520,0:15:38.569 speechless. And we could imagine various[br]scenarios until then. Of course we were 0:15:38.569,0:15:44.000 quite aware that the situation they were[br]dealing with is really, I mean, not easy 0:15:44.000,0:15:49.110 to deal with. So we were a lot of the[br]times putting it down to "Hey, okay, 0:15:49.110,0:15:53.060 they're probably really overwhelmed with[br]dealing all these increasingly complicated 0:15:53.070,0:15:57.380 rescues in the Mediterranean, and[br]eventually that leading to really poor 0:15:57.380,0:16:06.230 decision making". However such incidents[br]kept occuring. And at the end of July the 0:16:06.230,0:16:11.879 Italian coast guard transferred 2 migrants[br]on board of the Iuventa. And they had 0:16:11.879,0:16:17.199 found them in a really small rubber boat.[br]They had left from Tripoli and they 0:16:17.199,0:16:21.610 requested us to take them on board. So[br]again that was a rather unusual event, 0:16:21.610,0:16:25.690 never happened before, as we learned from[br]Hendrik before. The boats are usually a 0:16:25.690,0:16:29.939 little bit bigger than three metres and[br]there are usually a few more people than 0:16:29.939,0:16:35.149 two on there. Yet, you know, what if[br]what's happening out there is actually 0:16:35.149,0:16:41.139 normal. So yes we took those 2 people on[br]board and we accommodated our guests for 0:16:41.139,0:16:47.370 two days before we actually got any[br]instructions as to how to continue, and we 0:16:47.370,0:16:51.610 were kind of almost expecting that we had[br]to proceed to Lampedusa with our two 0:16:51.610,0:17:01.160 guests. So on the way to Lampedusa,[br]approximately half way, we received 0:17:01.160,0:17:08.959 another distress call from Rome, about a[br]boat that had apparently left in Tunesia 0:17:08.959,0:17:15.519 in the early morning. And what was really[br]interesting that day was that they gave us 0:17:15.519,0:17:20.399 super precise instructions as to how to[br]perform a search pattern. A search pattern 0:17:20.399,0:17:27.039 is like the organized way of performing a[br]search at sea with the coordinates and 0:17:27.039,0:17:32.480 distances to speeds you go, so they were[br]in total control of what we did and how we 0:17:32.480,0:17:36.449 did it, and they were making sure[br]continuously that we are following their 0:17:36.449,0:17:41.320 plan. Something never happened before[br]because usually they were really not 0:17:41.320,0:17:48.050 interested in how we performed the search,[br]as long as we found the boats, obviously. 0:17:50.490,0:17:55.770 While they were making us perform a search[br]pattern that would have taken us three 0:17:55.770,0:18:03.170 days to complete, the way they ordered us[br]to do it, they neither gave us an official 0:18:03.170,0:18:09.439 distress notification, nor an official[br]search and rescue case number, both of 0:18:09.439,0:18:19.540 which would be the usual procedure. And[br]probably worth by adding is that also the 0:18:19.540,0:18:25.109 Iuventa was the only ship involved in that[br]search that day, all the other ships were 0:18:25.109,0:18:29.720 just not a few between Tunisia and[br]Lampedusa had not been, obviously, not 0:18:29.720,0:18:35.030 been informed. Another private rescue ship[br]that was, that happened to be in the area 0:18:35.030,0:18:41.890 was initially declined by the MRCC to[br]support us. Then I kept insisting like: 0:18:41.890,0:18:46.050 "Hey guys, we cannot possibly [br]do this on our own". 0:18:46.050,0:18:55.010 And so eventually they allowed them to[br]join into the search. Very interesting 0:18:55.010,0:18:58.809 also is that we requested the support [br]of a surveillance plane, 0:18:58.809,0:19:01.900 of a private surveillance plane [br]by Sea-Watch, the Moon Bird, 0:19:01.900,0:19:09.280 and it was completely rejected and[br]declined from morning till evening that 0:19:09.280,0:19:17.639 day. So Moon Bird never left the ground in[br]Malta that day. And yet believe it or not: 0:19:17.639,0:19:24.840 We were still not fully convinced that the[br]MRCC's decisions are actually really 0:19:24.840,0:19:30.429 solely driven by the interests of the[br]Ministry of Interior in Italy. 0:19:30.429,0:19:36.900 We were still somewhat in denial, thinking[br]that, you know, something like law 0:19:36.900,0:19:42.230 enforcement would be beyond their scope,[br]really. And so our paranoia level had 0:19:42.230,0:19:48.480 simply just not, could not grasp yet the[br]dimension of where this would take us. 0:19:48.500,0:19:55.079 Until the very moment when we reached[br]Italian territorial waters close to 0:19:55.079,0:20:00.930 Lampedusa, and 4 Coast Guard ships[br]escorted us with blue lights into the 0:20:00.930,0:20:09.729 harbor of Lampedusa. And the Iuventa was[br]searched and seized on August 2nd. So, 0:20:09.729,0:20:15.439 slowly it was dribbling, all these events[br]beforehand started to make sense, fell 0:20:15.439,0:20:22.630 into place. And in fact, there are a lot[br]of facts now, in hindsight that were, you 0:20:22.630,0:20:27.329 know, we can, that we can put in order,[br]and we know that the warrants for the 0:20:27.329,0:20:32.329 search, as well as for the seizure, had[br]both been signed one day before we 0:20:32.329,0:20:38.880 actually came to Lampedusa. And also the[br]complete confiscation order of the Iuventa 0:20:38.880,0:20:48.330 had been leaked to the media in advance so[br]they could they could be there, they could 0:20:48.330,0:20:52.550 receive us in the middle of the night.[br]They were waiting for us at the peer, the 0:20:52.550,0:20:59.769 Italian press. And, you know, then you[br]think: "Okay, that search pattern we did. 0:20:59.769,0:21:03.919 What was that about? Were they buying time[br]to fly in all these police officers that 0:21:03.919,0:21:12.320 ended up on our ship?" But one thing we[br]know for sure now is that the scenario I 0:21:12.320,0:21:18.059 talked about before when they withdrew the[br]Iuventa from distress calls that day in 0:21:18.059,0:21:25.130 May, there was actually a price they[br]accepted to pay to install a bug on the 0:21:25.130,0:21:33.710 bridge of the Iuventa that day. Also when[br]they continuously ordered the Iuventa back 0:21:33.710,0:21:37.569 to Lampedusa, I mean, now that kind of[br]starts making sense as well if you 0:21:37.569,0:21:49.419 consider that the capacity of a SD card[br]may not be that big over such a long time. 0:21:49.419,0:21:55.819 Roundabout the same time when the bug was[br]installed on the bridge of the Iuventa 0:21:55.829,0:22:02.490 there were also 2..., there was also 1[br]undercover cop placed on another private 0:22:02.490,0:22:06.989 rescue ship and he later produced forged[br]evidence to incriminate the crew of the 0:22:06.989,0:22:13.869 Iuventa. So in fact, the investigation, we[br]then learned, of the Iuventa crew by the 0:22:13.869,0:22:21.530 Italian authorities was started as early[br]as September 2016 (last year) when two 0:22:21.530,0:22:27.920 security officers on board of another[br]vessel, they were both former cops, had 0:22:27.920,0:22:34.559 proactively informed not only special[br]police forces dealing with organized crime 0:22:34.559,0:22:40.230 in Sicily, but also the Italian foreign[br]intelligence service and a politician of 0:22:40.230,0:22:46.169 the Lega Nord in Italy, and although their[br]testimonies were somewhat contradictory 0:22:46.169,0:22:51.750 and they were reporting strange behavior[br]of the Iuventa, they actually did prompt a 0:22:51.750,0:22:57.909 large scale investigation. So the[br]accusations that are meant to justify the 0:22:57.909,0:23:05.490 seizure of the ship include: Facilitation[br]of illegal immigration, Collusion with 0:23:05.490,0:23:13.450 human traffickers, and possession of[br]firearms. However, until this day, there 0:23:13.450,0:23:17.749 are no criminal charges against any[br]individual crewmembers, nor against the 0:23:17.749,0:23:25.150 organization, which I guess works in their[br]favor as well because they have reached 0:23:25.150,0:23:30.860 what they wanted, they bought time, they[br]have one ship less in the Search and 0:23:30.860,0:23:36.089 Rescue area at the moment. And the moment[br]they actually get a trial they start 0:23:36.089,0:23:43.800 having to produce real evidence, which may[br]be trouble for them. So the seizure of the 0:23:43.800,0:23:48.790 Iuventa they called a so-called[br]'Preventive Measure', and that was only 0:23:48.790,0:23:56.009 enabled by Anti-Mafia laws, which by the[br]way were also used against..., for similar 0:23:56.009,0:24:05.660 cases like the Capandamur in 2005 and[br]Tunisian fishers in 2007, both of which 0:24:05.660,0:24:12.289 cases the charges had to be dropped after[br]some years. Still the damage was done. So 0:24:12.289,0:24:18.639 we have of course appealed the seizure, in[br]the meantime, at the court in Trapani, 0:24:18.639,0:24:22.780 but, as we expected, that was rejected and[br]has been taken to the next level at the 0:24:22.780,0:24:30.439 Supreme Court in Rome. And yeah, we are[br]now waiting for them to decide whether 0:24:30.439,0:24:35.940 actually the seizure of the Iuventa was[br]legal or not. 0:24:36.110,0:24:40.950 Hendrik: What we had to learn in the[br]aftermath was that the seizure of the 0:24:40.950,0:24:46.880 Iuventa was only a small part in a way[br]bigger political fight. What the EU 0:24:46.880,0:24:50.759 actually wants to do is they want to shut[br]down the central Mediterranean route at 0:24:50.759,0:24:55.360 all costs, and what they also want to[br]prevent is pictures of drowning people. 0:24:55.360,0:24:59.360 And instead of sending ships there to[br]rescue these people, what they want to do 0:24:59.360,0:25:04.090 is they want to get rid of the witnesses[br]that document how the people drown and 0:25:04.090,0:25:10.080 actually save them. So they are trying to[br]stop the NGOs from working there. 0:25:10.080,0:25:14.159 applause[br]boo 0:25:14.159,0:25:19.520 So what we learned is that the fight for[br]the Iuventa we are fighting at the moment 0:25:19.520,0:25:23.770 is not a legal fight but a political[br]fight, and we are waging that fight 0:25:23.770,0:25:29.070 together with a lot of other NGO that are[br]active there in the central Mediterranean. 0:25:29.070,0:25:33.059 So for us of course the seizure of the[br]Iuventa was a drawback. We don't have a 0:25:33.059,0:25:37.950 ship anymore which with which we can[br]operate. But still you can see also with 0:25:37.950,0:25:42.969 constant pressure, sometimes there are[br]positive surprises. For example in 0:25:42.969,0:25:48.580 December the United Nations made an[br]evacuation flight for migrants from Libya 0:25:48.580,0:25:54.500 directly to Europe. And that of course was[br]only possible because of the constant 0:25:54.500,0:25:58.899 media work a lot of NGOs did so that the[br]European Union had to react and allow 0:25:58.899,0:26:05.220 that. So what this also shows us is that[br]with patience and continuous struggle it 0:26:05.220,0:26:08.919 still is possible to drill small holes[br]into the walls of Fortress Europe. 0:26:09.899,0:26:12.599 Kathrin: Yes, continue that fight! [br]Thank you. 0:26:12.599,0:26:13.619 Hendrik: Thanks. 0:26:13.619,0:26:34.069 applause[br]cheer 0:26:34.069,0:26:44.810 Herald Angel: Breathtaking. Thank you so[br]much. So, do we have questions? We have 0:26:44.810,0:26:54.840 some microphones in the Saal, so you can[br]just go there, and place yourself. Okay, I 0:26:54.840,0:26:58.880 think I will start with number 6.[br]Microphone No. 6: Yes, hello, thank you 0:26:58.880,0:27:05.980 for the good work. You mentioned a charge[br]of firearms on the ship. Were there any? 0:27:05.980,0:27:11.930 Kathrin: Good question. No, they have not[br]found any evidence at all during the 0:27:11.930,0:27:18.769 search, and we also later learned that[br]they had to include this section into the 0:27:18.769,0:27:23.600 accusation to actually justify the seizure[br]at all, because those are the two 0:27:23.600,0:27:31.290 accusations whould've not been strong[br]enough to justify the seizure. 0:27:31.290,0:27:37.020 Herald Angel: Okay, microphone 1 please.[br]Microphone 1: Thank for the talk. 3 quick 0:27:37.020,0:27:41.120 questions: How much did the Iuventa cost?[br]How much would it cost to buy a new ship? 0:27:41.120,0:27:47.340 And is this feasible?[br]laughter 0:27:47.340,0:27:51.699 Hendrik: I actually have no idea much that[br]ship cost, do you know that? 0:27:51.699,0:27:58.750 Kathrin: I roughly know how much a ship in[br]that size would cost now, at a similar 0:27:58.750,0:28:09.550 age. We are probably looking at between[br]180.000 to 250.000 Euro. And feasible or 0:28:09.550,0:28:15.490 not, from an economic point of view[br]probably doable, yes, I mean, people have 0:28:15.490,0:28:20.139 done it before, and it's probably possible[br]to do it again. From a political point of 0:28:20.139,0:28:28.690 view it's certainly debateable whether...,[br]how to proceed and what the right action 0:28:28.690,0:28:33.810 is at this point. 0:28:33.810,0:28:38.720 Herald Angel: Okay, we have a Signal, we[br]have a question from the Internet, please. 0:28:38.720,0:28:42.630 Signal Angel: Is what happened to your[br]ship unique, or are there other ships that 0:28:42.630,0:28:45.410 have been seized? 0:28:45.410,0:28:48.052 Kathrin: Can... I didn't understand the[br]question. 0:28:48.052,0:28:52.429 Hendrik: Actually it's... The seizure is[br]unique but there have been other ships 0:28:52.429,0:29:00.890 that have been searched by the cops like[br]from Save the Children and MSF. 0:29:00.890,0:29:05.360 Herald Angel: Okay, number 1 please.[br]Kathrin: Something to the answer of that 0:29:05.360,0:29:11.569 question: We... In our file we certainly[br]also know that while they are 0:29:11.569,0:29:17.980 investigating against the Iuventa crew,[br]they have tapped phones of numberous 0:29:17.980,0:29:23.620 people that also work for all the other[br]NGOs, mainly in Italy, so we know that 0:29:23.620,0:29:31.029 this is going over and beyond what[br]happened to us, but we were just a, like a 0:29:31.029,0:29:37.420 digestible bite, to put it that way.[br]Herald Angel: What a bite. Okay, number 1 0:29:37.420,0:29:42.230 please.[br]Microphone 1: Let's say I've got a half a 0:29:42.230,0:29:47.450 year of free time on hand... where do I[br]sign up? 0:29:47.450,0:29:53.030 laughter[br]applause 0:29:53.030,0:29:57.200 Hendrik: Sounds great, I can invite you to[br]come to the assembly afterwards. We have 0:29:57.200,0:30:01.009 an "Just humans" assembly in hall 2 where[br]a lot of these NGOs I mentioned in the 0:30:01.009,0:30:06.469 talk actually are, so just come and talk[br]to us, and find us there. 0:30:08.359,0:30:12.320 Herald Angel: Okay, one last question, I[br]hope it's a short question because we just 0:30:12.320,0:30:15.710 got 2 more minutes.[br]Microphone: Thanks for the talk, and 0:30:15.710,0:30:22.379 thanks for the work you do. One question:[br]The bug, was it actually legal? Was it a 0:30:22.379,0:30:28.070 legal operation that they did that? And[br]how do you know that there is a bug, that 0:30:28.070,0:30:31.210 there have been a bug?[br]Kathrin: We know that there is a bug 0:30:31.210,0:30:36.210 because that was a... it's part of the[br]investigation file that we were handed 0:30:36.210,0:30:44.129 over, part of the 500 pages investigation[br]file. We know the exact date and time, 0:30:44.129,0:30:48.169 when the bug has been installed, and[br]roundabout where, namely on the bridge of 0:30:48.169,0:30:53.419 the Iuventa. Whether or not that action[br]was legal, because we are looking at 0:30:53.419,0:31:01.880 Italien authorities, planting a bug on a[br]ship under Dutch flag, bugging people in 0:31:01.880,0:31:09.370 interational waters, mostly from German[br]decent. Until today we have not got a 0:31:09.370,0:31:17.789 clear answer to that question, we are[br]still asking a number of lawyers around 0:31:17.789,0:31:24.310 Europe and it's probably a situation that[br]doesn't happen too often. Also you're 0:31:24.310,0:31:27.789 warmly invited to come around to our[br]assembly and we can talk about that a 0:31:27.789,0:31:31.799 little bit more, because that's one of the[br]most interesting and pressing questions we 0:31:31.799,0:31:37.069 have as well.[br]Herald Angel: Okay. So, like the two said: 0:31:37.069,0:31:41.470 Assembly Hall 2, just Humans, is the space[br]where you can meet them, where you can ask 0:31:41.470,0:31:44.990 more questions. And thank you once again! 0:31:44.990,0:31:50.010 applause and cheer 0:31:50.010,0:31:52.009 Kathrin: Thanks for having us! 0:31:52.009,0:31:56.829 34c3 postroll music 0:31:56.829,0:32:14.000 subtitles created by c3subtitles.de[br]in the year 2018. Join, and help us!