Italy Judge Orders Release of Sea-Watch Captain Carola Rackete

INDIGENOUS RIGHTS, NEWS, HUMAN RIGHTS, EUROPE, 8 Jul 2019

teleSUR – TRANSCEND Media Service

2 Jul 2019 – Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he had hoped for a tougher response from the justice system but promised to expel as soon as possible the captain.

Carola Rackete, the 31-year-old Sea-Watch 3 captain, disembarks from a Finance police boat and is escorted to a car, in Porto Empedocle, Italy July 1, 2019. Photo: Reuters

An Italian judge ruled today that German captain Carola Rackete of a migrant charity ship had not broken the law when she forced a naval blockade at the weekend, saying she had carried out her duty to protect life.

Rackete, a 31-year-old German national, disobeyed Italian military orders and entered the port of Lampedusa on Saturday, hitting a police patrol boat as she brought some 41 African migrants to land in the Sea-Watch rescue vessel.

She was immediately detained and placed under house arrest, but in a blow for Italy’s hardline interior minister, Matteo Salvini, Judge Alessandra Vella ruled that Rackete had been carrying out her duty and had not committed any act of violence.

Rackete still faces possible charges of helping illegal immigration, but Vella ordered her immediate release.

Salvini said in a statement he had hoped for a tougher response from the Italian justice system and promised to expel Rackete as soon as possible.

RELATED: ‘Rackete Should Be Released’, Ex-Coast Guard Commander Says

The controversy over Rackete’s actions have dented relations between Italy on the one side and Germany and France on the other, and have highlighted Europe’s continued failure to adopt coherent immigration norms.

Rackete appeared before the Agrigento court on Monday and apologized for hitting the patrol boat, saying it had been an accident and explaining that her sole concern was the well-being of the migrants who had been at sea for more than two weeks.

https://twitter.com/telesurenglish/status/1145346468439572481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1145346468439572481%7Ctwgr%5E393039363b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telesurenglish.net%2Fnews%2Fitaly-judge-release-sea-watch-captain-carola-rackete-20190702-0019.html

Go to Original – telesurenglish.net

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Comments are closed.