Photo credit: RTE
Six members of an Italian charity which rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea have gone on trial in Sicily.
RTE reports that they are accused of aiding illegal migration.
The case centres around the Mare Jonio, a ship operated by Mediterranea Saving Humans (MHS), which took 27 migrants off a tanker in 2929 and took them to Italy. The migrants had been stranded on the Danish vessel, Maersk Etienne, for over a month. Italy and Malta had refused to accept them.
Luca Casarini, the charity’s co-founder, and three crew members, including a doctor, are among the defendants.
Prosecutors allege the rescue was financially motivated, pointing to a 125,000 euro payment from Maersk to MSH months after the event. Maersk said in 2021 that the payment was intended to “cover some of the costs” that the rescue charity faced. It denied discussing financial compensation at any point.
MSH described the payment as a “transparent donation.”
