Image caption A protest in improve of the fishermen used to be held in Tunis
Italy has been advised to free up six Tunisian fishermen who have been arrested at sea on suspicion of smuggling migrants.
Supporters of the fishermen, from the south-east coastal town of Zarzis, say their colleagues have been merely aiding a boat in distress.
The boat, carrying 14 folks, was looking to succeed in the Italian island of Lampedusa final week.
considered one of the arrested fishermen is Chamseddine Bourassine, president of the Affiliation of Fishermen in Zarzis.
He is a local legend within the the city, reports the BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tunis.
A small protest used to be held out of doors the Italian embassy within the Tunisian capital, calling for the males’s release.
one in every of the ones provide was once Mohamed Murad, 22, who’s additionally from Zarzis and was once at the boat in misery. He told our correspondent that the engine stopped operating, and they have been “floating within the center of the sea and there were children with us crying.. it was a scenario you couldn’t even imagine”.
He mentioned Mr Bourassine and his fellow fishermen found them, and gave them something to eat.
After failing to persuade the migrants to return to Tunisia, the fisherman then mentioned he could attempt to contact the Italian authorities, and not using a success.
“So he tugged us a bit further where the Italian coastguard can to find us, and it used to be at a time whilst our boat would have most effective lasted for a brief time and capsized and we’d have died… then the Italian coastguard got here and took us.”
Mr Bourassine, he mentioned, can not be in jail, “he have to be honoured” for combating the deaths of 14 people.
The Italian coastguard doubts the tale given, pronouncing it has no report of an SOS call being made to the Italian coastguard both via the fishermen or the migrants.
the men now stand accused of assisting unlawful migrants and could face a 15-year sentence if convicted.
