Advertisement

Italy to fine migrant boats up to €50,000 for approaching without permission

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Italy to fine migrant boats up to €50,000 for approaching without permission
People aboard the Sea Watch 3 rescue ship. Photo: Federico Scoppa/AFP

The populist Italian government is stepping up a crackdown against migrant ships and assaults on police with a tough new decree led by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

Advertisement

The 18-article decree brings in fines of up to €50,000 for the captain, owner and operator of a vessel "entering Italian territorial waters without authorisation", Salvini told reporters on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting.

Although charity vessels which rescue thousands of migrants are not mentioned they would be hit, with Salvini saying repeat offences would see vessels impounded.

READ ALSO:

Also under the decree, which still has to go before parliament where the coalition government holds a comfortable majority, penalties will be increased for assault against members of the security forces. These include four years in jail for using baseball bats, sticks or fireworks against security forces.

Demonstrators who hide their faces to avoid being identified face up to three years in prison and fines of up to €6,000 under the decree.

Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister and leads the powerful right-wing League party in the coalition, has seen his popularity soar in the last year with a hard line against migrants which has included closing ports to rescue vessels.


'I migrate, you migrate, he migrates...' Protesters against another of Matteo Salvini's security decrees last year. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

More than 12,000 people have died since 2014 trying to flee Libya to Europe by what the UN refugee agency calls the "world's deadliest sea crossing".

SOS Mediterranee, one of several charities involved in rescue operations in the Med, said people continue to try to cross despite the fact that fewer NGO boats are active, demonstrating that rescue ships aren't – as some claim – a 'pull' factor.

“The reality is even with fewer and fewer humanitarian vessels at sea, people with few alternatives will continue to undertake this deadly sea crossing regardless of the risks. The only difference now is people are nearly four times more likely to die compared to last year," said the charity's director of operations, Frédéric Penard. 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also