Accusation & Counterproof
The case for the seizure rests on reports of three incidents, submitted either by IMI Security agents or by an undercover agent. Forensic Architecture and Forensic Oceanography, together with the crew and our legal team, examined the accounts of these events as presented by the Italian authorities. We opened our archives, shared all the relevant data we had, and jointly reconstructed the course of each operation. Our perspective became the starting point of the counter-investigation. As early as 2018, our legal team filed a motion to dismiss the proceedings: by then, the alleged evidence had already been refuted, stripping the seizure and the subsequent charges of their foundation. Without success.
The majority of the police dossier, however, does not concern the three main accusations directly. Rather, it consists of "supporting evidence" harvested from intercepted phone calls and audio recordings from a bug planted on the ship's bridge in May 2017. In part, these materials served to construct alleged operational misconduct: the crew's supposed hostility towards the authority of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), our refusal to report suspected smugglers, and our allegedly reckless conduct near Libyan territorial waters. But many of the transcriptions contain lengthy political opinions voiced by IMI security staff – personnel that had long been acting on behalf of Matteo Salvini – alongside selected snippets of crew conversations about their political backgrounds, beliefs and commitments.
Incident #1 - 10 September 2016
accusation
The first incident cited by the prosecution concerns the alleged return to Libyan smugglers of a boat used during the rescue operation on 10.9.2016. In this case, the accusation is based on agents of IMI Security Service aboard the Vos Hestia.
On the 10.9.2016 140 migrants coming from the Libyan sea on board of a boat which, after the transfer of the passengers onto the motorboat IUVENTA, receded towards the Libyan coast with two men on board; migrants that were transferred onto the IUVENTA were then transferred to the motorboat VOS HESTIA that landed at the port of Trapani on the 12.9.2016.
QUESTION POLICE AGENT: Do you have something to add or change?
ANSWER GALLO: Yes, I would like to report that I, Floriana BALLESTRA and Lucio MONTANINO noted, taking advantage of the satellite position seen on the radar of the Vos Hestia, that the boat named Iuventa, bearing a Dutch flag and in use by an NGO whose name I don't remember, often steers very close to the Libyan coasts. During a rescue dated 10 September 2016, we also noted during a transfer of 140 migrants from the IUVENTA to our boat, a dinghy was driving away heading towards the Libyan coasts with on board only two men of colour. This made us believe that the crew of the IUVENTA had transferred the 140 migrants from the dinghy before our arrival, leaving the dinghy to return with only the smugglers on board.
counterproof
The Iuventa's logbook shows that three different boats carrying rescued people were brought alongside the Iuventa during the hours in question. Given the timeline, the only boat the witnesses could plausibly have seen is the one logged as TV5, identifiable by a blue marking on its bow.
Forensic Architecture's reconstruction was able to track TV5's movements throughout the day using the available photographs: alongside the Iuventa at 10:29, then again at 13:36 and 14:20, while Irish navy personnel oversaw the transfer of people. At 15:50, the crew brought TV5 alongside once more, towing it as a floating platform next to a sinking rubber boat – confirmed by additional photos. According to the logbook, this final transfer using TV5 ended at 17:48. The boat was then towed away from the Iuventa, slashed and burned at 18:40.
Frontex's own data confirms that every boat from which people were rescued that day was destroyed and sunk.
The Iuventa's Head of Mission's own account, delivered as a court statement in Trapani, directly contradicts the prosecution's version of events:
On this day, various boats docked and departed from IUVENTA: either rescue boats from different rescue teams, or the three rubber boats we had brought alongside as part of the rescue operations. These three inflatable boats were destroyed by the rescue teams present – us or the Irish Navy. This was confirmed by the state and military units on the scene: the Irish Naval Patrol Vessel LÉ James Joyce, a Spanish Air Force SAR aircraft, and a helicopter from the Italian Navy, and is corroborated by Frontex's own reporting.
Incident #2 - 18 June 2017
accusation
The accusation concerns the alleged return of three wooden boats – whose passengers had just been rescued – to Libyan smugglers, at least one of which was allegedly back in use within days. Unlike the first incident, this charge rests on the testimony of the undercover agent "Bracco," who provided photographs purporting to show the act itself.
On the 18.6.2017, in international waters, after having participated in the rescue operation of (at least five?) migrants coming from the territorial waters of Libya on board of three boats, members of the crew of the IUVENTA tied together the three boats and returned them to the Libyan traffickers. One of the boats, marked with the letters “KK”, was later re- used as a migrant boat on the 26.6.2017
counterproof
That day, the Iuventa and Vos Hestia conducted rescues of over 500 people from five boats. At 5:44, four boats were visible on the horizon: three carrying rescued people — TVA, TVB and TVC — and one belonging to the Libyan coast guard. This presence is significant: the prosecution never mentioned it, having always claimed the Libyan coast guard had already returned to Libya before operations began.
The Iuventa's RhIB approached TVA to deliver life jackets — a moment recorded by its onboard camera, which allowed Forensic Architecture to reconstruct everyone's exact positions: TVB, TVC, the Vos Hestia (carrying the IMI agents and the undercover agent), and the Iuventa itself.
At 6:30, the Iuventa crew photographed the Libyan coast guard removing TVB's engine. Shortly after, the Libyan coast guard was seen heading towards TVA — its engine gone too.
A photo shows the now-empty TVC in the distance. This is the moment the prosecution's central photo captures: Iuventa's RhIB II approaching TVC, which investigators claimed was being towed towards Libya. We obtained the original video material — part of it likely filmed by a journalist aboard the Vos Hestia, as well as helmet camera footage from the Vos Hestia's RhIBs. Forensic Architecture used this material for motion tracking — reading wind direction from wave patterns and cross-referencing weather data — to reconstruct a geographically accurate model of the scene.
Placed into this model, the photo shows the opposite of what was claimed: the RhIB was towing the wooden boat TVC north, towards the Iuventa and away from Libyan waters-
incident #3 - 18 June 2017
accusation
The prosecution alleged that Iuventa crew members communicated with Libyan smugglers during operations on 18 June 2017 — purportedly to make further arrangements. As evidence of a pre-established relationship between the crew and the smugglers, the prosecution presented a photograph showing a gesture exchanged between the smugglers and the Iuventa crew: someone waved. As with the second incident, the charge rested on photographs and the statements of undercover agent "Bracco."
Again on the 18.6.2017, a few hours later, after at first meeting in international waters with Libyan traffickers on board of their respective boats, they would quickly return to the motorboat IUVENTA (while the Libyan traffickers travelled back to Libyan waters, and, lastly they would meet again with the Libyan traffickers who at this point had a boat with on board some migrants that were being transferred on the motorboat IUVENTA and, at the end of the operations, the smugglers removed the engine from the boat used by the migrants and returned to Libyan waters. With the aggravating charges of having favoured illegal entry of five or more foreigners into the territory of the state, and of the crime having been committed by more than three people in collaboration with each others.
counterproof
After completing the second rescue operation, at 10:44 the Iuventa began a further rescue of two overcrowded rubber boats a few miles away. Onboard camera footage from the RHIB allows a clear reconstruction of what took place: crew members addressed the rescued people exclusively, looking for someone who spoke English to act as interpreter. There was no communication with the alleged smugglers, who observed the operation from the side without intervening. The Iuventa's onboard camera documents what followed: the crew cut and sank the rubber boat.
As the rescue of the second boat continued, the Vos Hestia moved closer, placing the undercover agent "Bracco" and the IMI personnel in direct observation of the scene. While the transfer of rescued people was still underway, the alleged smugglers intervened and removed the engine from the rubber boat. This was documented both on video and in photographs taken from the Iuventa's bridge.
The video cuts and stills later used by "Bracco" in his report were taken from footage recorded by an independent journalist aboard the Vos Hestia. Cross-referencing this material with all available footage from that day produces a complete picture, and one that directly contradicts "Bracco's" account. The wave from the alleged smugglers was clearly directed not at the Iuventa crew, but at the people in the rubber boat themselves, who waved back.
