A case that is bound to have far-reaching ramifications on how European countries respond to search and rescue operations of migrants taking risky voyages in the Central Mediterranean Sea is set to open in Crotone, southern Italy. Human rights groups have been critical of government efforts and policies that they contend impede the rescue operations.

On January 30, an Italian court will commence the trial of six officers who are accused of delayed rescue operations after a migrant boat sank off the coast of Steccato di Cutro in the region of Calabria in February 2023, causing the deaths of 94 people, including 35 minors. Some 80 people survived the shipwreck, while an unconfirmed number of migrants were never found. The trial had been slated to commence on January 14, but was postponed for the replacement of a judge.

In this case, two Italian Coast Guard officers and four Customs Police (Guardia di Finanza) officers will be put on trial for negligence and multiple counts of manslaughter. The prosecution cites a failure to initiate and carry out effective rescue operations despite clear indications that the migrants’ vessel was in distress.

The case emanates from a delayed rescue operation when a wooden vessel christened Summer Love, carrying between 180 and 250 people, most from Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan, sank in rough weather in the early morning hours of February 26, 2023. It has become known as the “Cutro shipwreck.”

The EU border agency, Frontex, is said to have alerted Italian authorities about the boat hours before it sank. Despite early warnings and worsening sea conditions, Italian authorities are accused of failing to activate a search-and-rescue operation. The Customs Police, it is alleged, took a law enforcement approach by dispatching two patrol boats to intercept the boat, but returned to port due to rough seas.

Following the wreckage, Italian authorities launched a formal investigation that took two years and culminated in the indictment in July last year of the six officers by the Crotone public prosecutor. The indictment of the officers and the impending trial are being praised by non-governmental organizations and human rights groups that contend it offers an important opportunity for justice for the deaths of migrants and asylum seekers at sea.

At least 65 survivors and six search and rescue organizations, namely EMERGENCY, Louise Michel, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity, and SOS MEDITERRANEE, are civil parties to the case. All believe that the case will have significant implications for how Europe responds to the growing problem of migrants in the Central Mediterranean Sea.

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“The Cutro shipwreck trial is a crucial opportunity to secure truth and justice for survivors and families of victims, and to help avoid future deaths,” said Judith Sunderland, acting deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It is not only the individual officers who are on trial, but also Italian state policies that prioritize deterring and criminalizing asylum seekers and migrants over saving lives.”

The trial of the six officers is opening when Europe continues to grapple with the challenge of a growing number of immigrants using makeshift boats perishing in the Mediterranean Sea, with most deaths attributed to a failure by Italy and other EU countries to respond promptly and appropriately to boats in distress. Since 2014, more than 33,200 people have died or been reported missing in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2025 alone, at least 1,340 people are believed to have lost their lives in the Central Mediterranean, which remains the deadliest migration corridor in the world.