It was stated that the group on the Turkish cargo ship, which the navy raided in Italy, consisted of asylum seekers, including pregnant women and children, and that they did not try to hijack the ship.
It turned out that the group on the Turkish cargo ship Galata Seaways, which the Italian navy and special forces raided 5 days ago with the allegation of “attempted abduction by immigrants” on its way from Turkey to France, were refugees who had secretly boarded the ship and did not try to hijack the ship.
According to the Guardian’s report, prosecutors in Naples concluded that the group, which was raided for allegedly attempting to hijack the ship, did not pose any threat, and that they were refugees secretly boarding the ship in the hope of reaching Europe. It was stated that among the refugees on board, there were a pregnant woman and 2 people under the age of 18 who had hypothermia.
Guido Crosetto, the defense minister of the far-right government in Italy, announced on Saturday that three military ships, dozens of special forces units and two helicopters had intervened against the “pirates” who attempted to hijack the ship.
However, according to sources from the prosecution’s office, investigative investigators concluded that there were no threats, violence or attempted hijackings on board.
It was recorded that 13 men and 2 women, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, boarded the ship that departed from Topçular in Turkey on 7 June illegally.
According to the Italian government, stowaways were spotted by the crew and attempted to take some of the sailors hostage using cutting tools.
Italian Defense Minister Crosetto announced that the captain of the ship requested urgent help from Ankara and that the Turkish authorities reported the incident to the Italian authorities while the ship was off the coast of Italy.
Describing the stowaways as “pirates”, Crosetto claimed that the refugees carried “dagger-like weapons”.
Prosecutors in Naples launched an investigation into the matter. After questioning the asylum seekers and crew, prosecutors concluded that a group of asylum seekers did not pose a threat and refused to charge them with “attempted piracy”.
While three of the detained asylum seekers were charged with carrying knives, the asylum seekers claimed that they used the knives to cut the tarpaulin of the truck they were hiding in.
While two women, one of whom is pregnant, were taken to the hospital, the male asylum seekers were taken to the refugee reception center.
