Francisco Gentico, a volunteer for the Catalan NGO, testified during the trial against Minister Matteo Salvini. He described the conditions on board the Open Arms rescue ship in August 2019, after the rescue of three groups of refugees who were later denied entry to Lampedusa. He mentioned that the situation was initially under control with 120 people on board, but became difficult after additional rescues. The refugees were separated by a plastic strip, had limited water, and suffered from physical and mental health issues. Some even attempted to swim to land when they spotted it. The situation became chaotic and they feared being taken back to Libya.