The German captain of a humanitarian rescue ship risked 10 years' imprisonment when she rammed an Italian police motorboat off the coast of Lampedusa on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Carola Rackete was captaining a ship carrying 40 migrants who were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea from an unseaworthy vessel launched from Libya when her ship was blocked by the much smaller police boat. No one was injured.
Rackete reportedly was tired of waiting for permission to dock after 17 days at sea and a multi-day standoff with Italian authorities. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who is known for his anti-immigrant stances, refused to let Rackete's ship dock in Lampedusa until other European Union countries agreed to take in the migrants on board — Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal pledged to do so on Friday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rackete was arrested for her actions, which excited "jeering" onlookers, The Associated Press reports, though others applauded when the migrants disembarked. The migrants reportedly hugged the ship's crew for their rescue efforts.
In addition to the possibility of a decade-long sentence, Rackete could also face a fine as high 50,000 euros — the result of a recent Salvini-backed law cracking down on private rescue vessels, AP reports.
The arrest, like the larger debate surrounding immigration, has split opinions across Europe — the leaders of Germany's Green Party and the Protestant Church have thrown their support behind Rackete, while Salvini and a Sicilian prosecutor criticized her for putting lives at risk.
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Philadelphia’s Calder GardensFeature A permanent new museum
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
