German Court Investigating Pro-Migrant NGO for People Smuggling

26.06.17


Dresden/Germany - The spokesman of the prosecutor's office in Dresden Lorenz Haase confirmed today that a criminal complaint was filed against NGO "Mission Lifeline" accusing them of attempted smuggling of illegal aliens into the country. If proven guilty, the accused may face a sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment (German Penal Code § 96 AufenthG "Einschleusen von Ausländern").

Both the chairman of the "Mission Lifeline" Axel Steier and his deputy Sascha Pietsch have been summoned to appear before the investigators.

The investigation is currently being conducted by the German Federal Police.

Similar investigations have been already launched by three different State Prosecutors and are ongoing in Italy.

The country with the most "sea rescuers" operating in the central Mediterranean is Germany with five organizations and six vessels - one costing ca. 420,000 Euro (ca. 450,000 USD) per month to keep at sea - over 4 800 000 million Euro a year (ca. 5 100 000 million USD).

Source:

* "Sea rescuers under investigation"/"Ermittlungen gegen Seenotretter":  https://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/ermittlungen-gegen-seenotretter-3713318.html