UN Experts Condemn Italy's Criminal Proceedings Against Ship Captain Who Saved Migrants

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) The detention and criminal case against a ship captain who rescued migrants and brought them to Italy and threats against a judge who released her are a cause of significant concern for UN human rights experts, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a press release on Thursday.

"UN human rights experts have expressed grave concern over the detention and criminal proceedings in Italy against the German captain of the migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3 and stated that the threats to the judge who ruled her release were unlawful," the release said.

The release explained that the ship's captain, Carola Rackete, steered the vessel with 40 migrants on board to enter Italy's port of Lampedusa on June 2. Two days later, Rackete was brought before a judge being accused of neglecting police in docking at the port and hitting a patrol boat.

On July 2, the judge ruled that Rackete had fulfilling an obligation to rescue people at sea and dismissed the charges against her, ordering her immediate release. Since, the judge has received death and rape threats.

The release noted that Rackete remains under investigation and faces up to 15 years in prison on charges of facilitating illegal migration and endangering the lives of police officers and,

On June 11, the Italian government passed a security and migration decree to fine non-governmental organizations up to 50,000 Euros if they use rescue boats to bring in migrants to Italy.

The Italian government has also banned vessels carrying rescued migrants from entering its territorial waters, with the nation's ports having remained closed to such boats since last summer.