Vessel captain faces jail time for landing migrants in Italy
SEA-WATCH 3 skipper Carola Rackete faced jail time Saturday after forcing her way into Italy’s Lampedusa port with rescued migrants to end a lengthy standoff with authorities.
Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP the 31-year-old German captain was seized after bringing the ship into port without authorisation late Friday.
Rackete, described as a “pain in the neck” by Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, was detained for forcing her way past a police boat that tried to block her, a crime punishable by three to 10 years in jail.
She was escorted from her ship and taken away as Salvini slammed what he termed a “criminal act, an act of war,” demanding that she be imprisoned.
“Humanitarian reasons cannot justify unacceptable acts of violence towards those wearing uniform at sea,” Italian media quoted regional prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio as saying.
Rackete will appear before a state prosecutor within 48 hours, her lawyer Leonardo Marino told reporters.
Italian media quoted police sources as saying she had apologized for putting the police speedboat and the safety of its occupants at risk.
The 40 migrants on board were allowed to disembark and were taken to a reception centre, some smiling, others in tears as they prepare to travel to either France, whose interior ministry said it would take in 10, or to Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and Portugal.
The Italian coastguard then seized the ship, anchoring it just off the coast.
“We put ourselves in the way to prevent (the ship) from entering the port. If we had stayed there, (it) would have destroyed our speedboat,” a police officer said in video footage posted on social media.
Residents and activists gathered on the pier to watch the Sea-Watch 3 dock.
Supporters applauded Rackete, while others hailed her arrest, shouting “handcuff her”, “shame” and “get lost!”.
- ‘Proud of our captain’ Former Italian ports minister Graziano Delrio said he was pleased that “the people’s suffering is over.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for a “swift clarification” of the charges against Rackete, and added: “Saving lives is a humanitarian duty. Sea rescues must not be outlawed.”
His position was echoed by Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn, while French Foreign Minister Christophe Castaner said that Italy’s decision to close its ports to those rescued at sea ran counter to maritime law.