“A big win for solidarity with all people on the move…and against the criminalization of helpers.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-3-2019

Carola Rackete. Photo: Sea-Watch

In a rebuke of far-right Italian leader Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigration policy, a judge on Tuesday ordered the release of Carola Rackete, the captain of a German rescue ship, who had been arrested for bringing African migrants to Italy.

Rackete should not be held in custody, Judge Alessandra Vella said, because she had simply been fulfilling “her duty to protect life.”

The captain was arrested Saturday for hitting a police boat in June when she entered the port of Lampedusa carrying 40 migrants, who she rescued off the coast of Libya with her charity organization, Sea-Watch. She had been under house arrest in Italy since then and potentially faced up to 10 years in prison before Judge Alessandra Vella’s ruling. Last year, Interior Minister Salvini ordered rescue ships to stay out of Italian ports Continue reading →