Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms could face a fine of 3.2 million euros (3.94 million dollars) in Italy for allegedly promoting illegal immigration, sources from the organization said Thursday.
The charges relate to the NGO's maritime rescues of 216 migrants in distress in the Mediterranean Sea in mid-March.
Lawyers from the NGO said in a press conference that a conviction would result in a fine of 15,000 euros for each of the migrants rescued on the high seas by the organization's boat.
The boat's captain and the rescue mission's coordinator could also face sentences of up to three years in prison, sources from the NGO told dpa.
"If they eliminate the NGOs that operate in the Mediterranean, the rescues of migrants who set sail from Libya will be erased," said the organization's founder, Oscar Camps.
Italian authorities are taking action against Proactiva Open Arms for the organization's refusal to hand over the migrants rescued in mid-March to the Libyan coast guard, as is required by an agreement between the African country and the European Union.
The organization's vessel then requested and received permission to dock in Italy with the migrants. The rescued migrants disembarked in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo.
Italian authorities then opened an investigation, and the local prosecutor ordered the ship confiscated.
Lawyers for the NGO say that the accusations have no legal basis, as there is no internationally recognized area over which Libya has responsibility for rescues, and because Italian authorities granted approval to dock and disembark.