A court in Palermo has ruled that the Italian state must compensate the German migrant rescue NGO Sea Watch with over €76,000 for the unlawful detention of its ship, the Sea Watch 3, in June 2019.
The case stems from an incident on 29 June 2019, when then-captain Carola Rackete defied a naval blockade off Lampedusa to bring 42 rescued migrants safely ashore. Courts later acquitted Rackete of charges related to ramming coast guard vessels.
The compensation covers documented expenses incurred by Sea Watch between October and December 2019, including port and agency fees, fuel costs, and legal fees.
Premier Giorgia Meloni criticised the ruling on social media, calling it “literally speechless.” She argued that the decision undermines the government’s efforts to manage migration, describing the judiciary’s rulings on Sea Watch cases as “objectively absurd.”
Meloni reaffirmed her commitment to enforcing Italian laws and safeguarding the country’s borders, stating that the government will continue to act despite judicial decisions it opposes. Her comments come ahead of a planned referendum on judiciary reform next month.
Separately, the NGO reported a legal victory in Catania, where a court suspended a 15-day detention order and related fine for the Sea Watch 5. The vessel had been impounded on 25 January after rescuing 18 people, including two children, in the Mediterranean without notifying Libyan authorities. The NGO said it acted to protect human rights and announced plans to resume operations in the Mediterranean.
