227 PEOPLE RESCUED IN 48 HOURS by our crews on Sea-Watch 5 & Aurora 2! While unidentified vessels harassed our crews, one claiming to be the Libyan Navy even threatened them with prosecution. Italy's response? Assigning Sea-Watch 5 a port 3 days away. Stop obstructing rescue! Press release ⬇️

Italy has assigned us the distant port of Civitavecchia, which is 900km away – around THREE DAYS of sailing away! Italian authorities are deliberately using distance as a weapon to prevent people from being rescued. We demand a closer port!

Our Sea-Watch 5 completed a third rescue early this morning! After being threatened by an actor identifying as the “Libyan Navy”, we were able to rescue another 72 people close to an oil platform. We now have 151 people on board! 📸 Adrian Pourviseh

🚨 Yesterday evening, an unknown militia circled the Sea-Watch 5, forcing everyone onboard inside. They pulled back. Later, the crew responded to an @alarmphone.bsky.social alert & rescued 51 ppl. from a sinking boat, including a pregnant woman. Many have severe burns. Save lives. Not borders.

Our Aurora safely disembarked 17 survivors in Catania last night. Italian authorities sent us to Sicily instead of Lampedusa, costing us precious rescue hours. But if they think this will keep us tied to the dock, they should think again. Solidarity and resilience keep us going!

This meeting reminded us to bring our struggles together and resist side by side.

She later came aboard our ship Aurora. Together, we reflected on how solidarity at sea is criminalized and how those who resist oppression face repression.

Francesca Albanese supported our demand to access the hotspot where authorities detained the survivors rescued by Sea-Watch after last week's shipwreck.

These surveillance and control tools are used to stop, at any cost, people fleeing from the southern shores of the Mediterranean.

We talked about how Israeli-made surveillance technology, like the drones used by Frontex, is part of the border system targeting people crossing the Mediterranean. These same tools are developed and tested against Palestinians.

We met Francesca Albanese in Lampedusa during the shipwreck commemorations on October 3, 2013. Together, we drew connections between the genocide in Palestine and the events unfolding in the Mediterranean.

Lampedusa is only 3,5 hours away, but Italian authorities assigned to us the Port of Catania - about 14,5 hours away, and there are 1,5 meter high waves! This is cruel. We demand a closer port!

Italy forces us to sail for 14,5 more hours?! This morning, our Aurora crew rescued 17 people who reported being at sea for more than 20 hours. They are exhausted, seasick and dehydrated - they need a port of safety now!

Doesn't matter how hard they try to get rid of us - we have international law on our side! ⚖️ The Sea-Watch 5 is back in the Mediterranean and ready to support people on the move. We wish our crew fair winds. 📸 Maria Giorgi

We will find out. We filed an access-to-documents request with Frontex to learn what they saw and who they informed. Europe owes answers and a state-run search-and-rescue program!

Two mothers lost children, and another woman lost her sister. We assume Frontex, the EU's border agency, orbited over them with its Eagle6 aircraft. If so, they decided not to intervene. Did authorities leave them to die because they couldn't be forced back to Libya or Tunisia?

12 hours. That's how long the Italian authorities knew about this boat before our crew reached the survivors. 12 hours in which people died. 6 people, including children, are still missing. What happened in that time? 👇