Police seize migrant rescue boat in defiance of Salvini

ITALIAN prosecutors yesterday ordered the seizure of a rescue boat anchored off the island of Lampedusa, allowing 47 migrants to disembark despite a pledge by Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister, to bar them from setting foot on Italian soil.

It marks the latest escalation in a dispute between prosecutors in Sicily and Mr Salvini, who has taken a hardline stance against migrant arrivals and closed Italian ports to humanitarian rescue ships.

The Italian captain of Sea Watch 3, a German-operated ship that flies the Dutch flag, defied a ban on entering the country’s waters after requesting permission to sail closer to port, citing bad sea conditions and an emergency situation on board. Eighteen people, including a woman with burns and families with children, were allowed to be taken off by the coast guard on Saturday.

At a rally in Milan on Saturday, Mr Salvini said the remaining 47 migrants – rescued off the coast of Libya – would not be allowed to disembark, but less than 24 hours later, all had left the ship after finance police officers boarded with a judge’s permission.

Crew members had reported growing tensions on board, with some of the migrants threatening self-harm.

Prosecutors have opened a human trafficking investigation.

The UN has warned the Italian government that plans to fine rescue organisations for transporting migrants would violate international human rights agreements, but the interior ministry said the proposed decree was lawful and would not be withdrawn.