Seven people have been placed under investigation for taking part in an unauthorized demonstration in support of the Sea Watch and Sea Eye migrant rescue ships on January 5 . Among those being investigated is city councilor Eleonora de Majo. The probe has sparked a controversy.
Many of the 49 people rescued in December by the Sea Watch and Sea Eye ships are engaged in a hunger strike, the platform Mediterranea Saving Humans reports. The migrants have been in a Malta center for two months and are protesting "against the de facto detention that they are illegally subjected to."
The Sea Watch 3, a non-profit search and rescue ship, remains in Catania port in Sicily after Dutch authorities decided last week that it needed maintenance. The ship had been allowed to enter port only after being stranded at sea for ten days with 47 migrants on board. InfoMigrants spoke to Kim Heaton-Heather, who was responsible for the search-and-rescue operations on the ship's last two missions. He thinks the move to keep the Sea Watch 3 docked in Sicily is a reflection of a growing anti-immigrant feeling in Europe.
Italian authorities have been asked by the Netherlands to keep the NGO migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3 in the port of Catania. The decision followed an inspection by Dutch authorities earlier this week.
The Catania prosecutor's office has declared that the NGO ship Sea Watch did not commit a crime in taking a route to Italy. However, it said the ship is "technically unsuitable" for performing migrant rescues at sea.
The latest standoff between Italy and the EU over sea rescues has ended with 47 migrants landing in Sicily. The German charity Sea Watch now fears it could be prosecuted and its boat impounded.
The Italian prime minister has said that the migrants stranded on a rescue boat operated by German NGO Sea Watch will soon be allowed to disembark. They will then be redistributed among several EU states.
The migration issue remains at the forefront of the race for the European Parliament elections, in which the Italian government majority allies are on opposite sides. Deputy prime ministers Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini have begun to show divergent positions, especially on the Sea Watch 3 case.
The Sea Watch 3 ship has been unable to reach a European port for weeks due to governments refusing to take in the migrants it is carrying. The situation on board has become critical, warned the German NGO.
The NGO vessel Sea Watch is currently awaiting instructions about where to dock and disembark 47 migrants they rescued at sea. The crew of the Sea Watch told ANSA that the migrants aboard are terrorized by the thought of being brought back to Libya. "Their health condition is good and stable, but now worsening weather conditions are concerning," the crew said.
The 49 rescued migrants and refugees say that they are hoping to find "rights and work" in Europe. "We will manage to survive because we know how to adapt to anything," a young Algerian told us.
After weeks of waiting, 49 North African refugees on two rescue vessels have received permission to disembark. Germany has agreed to accept 60 refugees in total amidst ongoing political wrangling within the EU.