Italian ministers deflected responsibility Tuesday for the return to Libya of 108 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, after humanitarian groups made accusations of international law violations.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refuted on Tuesday allegations by a migrant’s’ charity about an Italian ship bringing rescued migrants back to Libya being a breach of international law.

The U.N. refugee agency says it is looking into possible violations of international law involving the transport to Libya of 108 migrants rescued at sea by an Italian-flagged mercantile ship.

A security bureau under the command of the Presidential Council’s Interior Ministry freed Tuesday four Libyan journalists after detaining them for ten hours since last night, reported Libyan Center for Freedom of Press (LCFP).

In what would be an unprecedented case if confirmed, the Asso 28, an oil rig support vessel, allegedly saved 108 people from a dinghy and then took them to Tripoli.

At least 1,500 migrants have died this year attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean, with the Libya to Italy route the deadliest, according to a new report.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls for an end to the arbitrary detention of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in Libya after a dramatic increase in the number of people intercepted by the EU-supported Libyan coastguard in the Mediterranean and disembarked in Libya.

The European Union’s obstruction of nongovernmental rescues and handover of responsibility to Libyan coast guard forces is a recipe for even greater loss of life in the Mediterranean and a continuing cycle of abuse for people trapped in Libya, Human Rights Watch said today.

A charity rescuing refugees from the Mediterranean has filed a manslaughter complaint against a cargo ship and the Libyan coastguard, claiming it failed to help refugees on a destroyed dinghy.

The European Union’s migrant strategy has suffered a major setback with Italy refusing to freely accept people rescued at sea and Libya spurning a proposal for asylum processing centres.