Two survivors from a boat in which migrants were “left to die” adrift in the Mediterranean have launched legal proceedings in the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris and the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid against French and Spanish military authorities.
In April 2011 a dinghy crammed with 72 migrants fleeing North Africa ran out of fuel in the Mediterranean. 63 individuals died after the dinghy drifted for two weeks without food or water. The passengers made numerous distress calls which were ignored by nearby NATO ships based in the area engaged in hostilities against Colonel Gaddafi. No one came to the boat’s aid despite the fact that the distress call had been logged by the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. It is also believed that there was direct contact between the dinghy and a number of other nearby ships.
A complaint was initially lodged with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office in April 2012 but no action was taken. The survivors have now launched civil litigation proceedings. The survivors allege that the military authorities of both countries received distress signals from the migrants’ boat but failed to respond. The case also calls into question the responsibility of the British, Italian, Belgian and Canadian military who also had a presence in nearby waters.
The case is being supported by a coalition of NGOs including the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the Aire Centre.
Click here to read a press release from FIDH.
Click here to view an article in the Guardian about the case.