In the trial against German crew members of the civilian sea rescue ship “Iuventa”, the Italian state wants to be admitted as a civil plaintiff.
The office of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni filed a corresponding application yesterday in the court of the Sicilian city of Trapani, as her spokeswoman now confirmed when asked. The Ministry of the Interior also wants to be included in the proceedings as a joint plaintiff. The court must now decide.
“The investigations and the trial against us were always politically motivated. That has now been disclosed,” said Kathrin Schmidt from the “Iuventa” crew at night. In the proceedings, four German ex-members of the ship and 17 members of other organizations are accused of aiding and abetting the illegal entry of migrants. They deny the allegations. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
The procedure is currently in the preliminary hearing, in which the court will decide whether the main hearing will take place. The “Iuventa” rescued refugees in distress in the Mediterranean in 2016 and 2017. The authorities then confiscated the ship, which has been in Trapani ever since.
The proceedings finally stalled because the accused were unable to put their version on record due to the lack of an adequate interpreter. Yesterday the court ruled that more translators should be present at the hearings. “We welcome this decision because now the poor quality of the translators appointed by the police and prosecutors can finally be checked,” said defense lawyer Nicola Canestrini. The court also admitted further evidence from the defense.