Libya arrests Italian fishermen - to press convicted smugglers free

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The port of the fishing village of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily

Photo: Herb Hardt / imago images

On September 2, 2020, a Wednesday very early in the morning, the fishermen put their trawls into the water.

A good week earlier, with their two ocean-going cutters, the Antartide and the Medinea, they had left the port of Mazara del Vallo, a fishing village in western Sicily, behind them.

They had steered to the southeast, in the direction of the Bay of Benghazi, from where you can see Libya when the sky is clear.

One of the fishing grounds for Gamberi Rossi, the red prawns, which are among the most expensive prawns in the world.

At the market, the men believe, they would later be able to get 70 euros per kilo of prawns, as always.

But back to Sicily, home, the fishermen never brought their catch.

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Relatives of the fishermen demonstrate for their release

Photo: YARA NARDI / REUTERS

The Libyan coast guard seizes the cutter and arrests the 18 men.

She takes the fishermen to a prison near Benghazi.

The accusation: the Italians should not have been allowed to fish in the water, it was Libyan territory.

Militia leader Khalifa Haftar, who is in charge of Benghazi in the east of the civil war-torn Libya, demands an exchange of prisoners from Italy: He will release the 18 men if Italy releases four Libyan football players from prison in Sicily.

Italy accuses the men of having been involved in a tragic 2015 boat accident as human traffickers.

A wooden boat with more than 300 refugees capsized at that time.

49 people died because they were trapped in the hull of the ship.

The case of the Sicilian fishermen is currently developing into a diplomatic crisis, even Pope Francis spoke up in a sermon: "I support the fishermen who have been imprisoned in Libya for more than a month," he said, "I stand by theirs Families with. "

He prayed for the prisoners and for peace in Libya.

There has been a dispute between Italy and the North African country about the 180 nautical miles that separate Sicily from Libya since the 1970s.

The question is who has sovereignty over those very fish-rich waters in the Bay of Benghazi.

The Gamberi Rossi fishing grounds extend south and west of Sicily towards North Africa.

Libya sees fishing by foreign vessels as a territorial invasion and exploitation of its resources.

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"Free our fishermen": Relatives protest in the fishing village of Mazara del Vallo

Photo: private

In 2005, the then dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi escalated the situation: he unilaterally expanded Libyan territorial waters from 12 to 74 nautical miles off the coast, despite warnings from European countries.

For the EU, the area is part of international waters.

It is not the first time that Italian fishermen have been arrested by the Libyan coast guard.

In 1996, for example, a crew was shot at with machine guns, arrested and then detained in Libya for six months.

Italy and Europe are dependent on Libya for refugee policy

With the arrest of the 18 Sicilians in September, however, the escalation reached a new level: it was seldom so difficult to negotiate with the Libyan side.

The country is being crushed between two militia leaders who are both claiming leadership of the country.

The UN installed Fayez Sarraj as head of government in the west, in Tripoli.

But in the case of the fishermen, Italy has to negotiate with his opponent, General Haftar.

In addition, the 180 nautical miles separating Libya and Sicily are the main route migrants take across the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

Scene of the refugee crisis.

Italy and Europe have become heavily dependent on Libya on the refugee issue: The EU is funding Libya with sums of millions so that the country can intercept refugees in the Mediterranean and drag them back to the civil war country.

Italy is equipping the Libyan coast guard for this.

As part of the cooperation, Libya has declared a national SAR zone (derived from "Search and Rescue") that extends far beyond the Libyan territorial waters - and overlaps with the fishing grounds where the fishermen from Mazara del Vallo have now been arrested.

Italy will not allow itself to be blackmailed, said Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.

He promised the relatives on a video line that he would bring the men back home safely, that was the highest priority.

More than five weeks have passed since this promise, too long for the people in the fishing village.

The families in Mazara del Vallo feel abandoned by the Italian government.

"We are very concerned," said Leonardo Gancitano to SPIEGEL. He owns one of the confiscated cutters, he says his father worked on the ship for 30 years and that the crew belongs to his family.

"Some men have diabetes and urgently need medical help," says Gancitano, "give us back our fishermen and our ships."

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Ex-Interior Minister Matteo Salvini from the right-wing populist Lega recently joined the family protest in Rome

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YARA NARDI / REUTERS

From the fishing village, the relatives have now carried their protest to Rome.

You stayed in front of the Palazzo Montecitorio, where the House of Representatives sits.

They have painted posters that read in red "release them immediately".

They do not rest, they ask the Italian government to do everything possible to bring their men home.

The ships, they say, are their heritage, their pride.

One mother said her son called her from prison in Libya.

The Libyans accused him of smuggling drugs.

That is not true.

Your son is so scared.

A few days ago, of all people, Matteo Salvini joined the protesters in Rome.

The right-wing populist who, as interior minister, approved and consolidated the refugee deal with Libya.

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