REFUGEE rescue organisations working in the Mediterranean Sea announced today that they will cease communicating with the Libyan maritime authorities — even if this risks fines and the detention or confiscation of their ships and aeroplanes.

The announcement came at a press conference this morning as 13 refugee rescue groups announced the formation of a new alliance, the Justice Fleet.

“In the last 10 years, we have documented more than 60 cases of extreme violence [by the Libyan Coastguard],” Sea-Watch spokesperson Giulia Messmer said at the conference.  

“In the last three months, two rescue ships were fired at,” she said — a reference to the Ocean Viking rescue ship, which the Libyans shot at, unprovoked, for 20 minutes in August, and the Sea-Watch 5, which came under fire in September.

“We have never recognised these actors as a legitimate rescue authority,” said Ina Friebe, spokesperson for CompassCollective.

“Ending all operational communication with the so-called Libyan Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre is both a legal and moral necessity — a clear line against European complicity in crimes against humanity.”