Charges filed in France after armed attack on the Ocean Viking

Marseille, 8 October 2025 – SOS MEDITERRANEE and seven of its French members who were on board the Ocean Viking during the armed attack of August 24 have filed a complaint against unknown parties. The complaint—filed with the Marseille prosecutor’s office on 7 October—is for charges such as attempted murder and criminal conspiracy and aims to identify the perpetrators of the assault and establish their responsibility. SOS MEDITERRANEE is also requesting that the court rule on the possible involvement of European institutions and states in the financing, training, and equipping of these forces, in order to put an end to the escalation of violence in the central Mediterranean. 

On 24 August, SOS MEDITERRANEE’s humanitarian vessel the Ocean Viking was the Target of an extremely violent attack carried out by the Libyan Coast Guard in International waters. More than 100 bullets were fired at the vessel and those on board, including several French nationals who are members of the NGO. The complaint filed in Marseille, where SOS MEDITERRANEE France has its headquarters, follows an initial complaint filed on September 5 with the Syracuse prosecutor’s office in Italy. This additional legal action aims to establish the responsibility of the chain of command within the Libyan Coast Guard. It also seeks to bring the matter before the courts to determine the possible responsibility of European institutions and states that continue to finance, train, and equip these forces, fully aware of their violent practices. SOS MEDITERRANEE and the plaintiffs are calling for full transparency regarding these events, which mark the crossing of a new threshold in the cycle of intimidation and violence in the central Mediterranean that continues to intensify, as further illustrated by the attack on German NGO Sea-Watch’s vessel on 26 September. 

“It is unacceptable that the EU finances and condones violence by the Libyan Coast Guard against people trapped in Libya through brutal interceptions and forced returns when they try to flee, as well as flagrant attacks at sea against humanitarian workers. The impunity must stop. We hope that this complaint will put an end to the cycle of violence,” declares Sophie Beau, co-founder and executive director of SOS MEDITERRANEE France. This complaint is part of a series of actions in several countries aimed at bringing those responsible for this attack to justice and calling on political leaders to demand: 

• An independent and transparent investigation into the facts and the prosecution of the perpetrators and their supporters; 
• The suspension of all financial, material, and operational support from the European Union and Italy to the Libyan Coast Guard; 
• The abolition of the 2017 Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya¹ and the end of the SIBMMIL programme²; 
• The suspension and review of the recognition of the Libyan Search and Rescue Region by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), with an audit organised under the Member State Audit Scheme; 
• The effective protection of humanitarian search and rescue NGOs at sea, including an end to their criminalisation and administrative obstructions. 

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1. As part of the Declaration of Malta, €200 millions are allocated to fund the Libyan Coast Guard, which can then intercept boats and return people to Libya, in violation of international law. 
2.  This programme launched in 2017 with the aim of “strengthen[ing] the capacity of relevant Libyan authorities in the areas of border and migration management, including border control and surveillance, addressing smuggling and trafficking of human beings, search and rescue at sea and in the desert.”