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Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Italian activists face trial for migrant sea rescue in legal first
FILE PHOTO: Crew members and rescued migrants are seen on the deck of the Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, as a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) of the Italian Finance Police patrols nearby, in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) of the Italian Finance Police patrols near the Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, and the German NGO Sea-Eye migrant rescue ship 'Alan Kurdi' (unseen) in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo FILE PHOTO: The Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, with 34 rescued migrants on board, is seen in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo ROME - A Sicilian judge has ordered six members of an Italian charity ship to stand trial on accusations of aiding illegal immigration, the first time crew members of a rescue vessel have faced such prosecution, the group's lawyer said on Thursday. The case centres on a 2020 operation where the Mare Jonio charity ship, operated by the Mediterranea NGO, picked up 27 migrants who had been rescued by a giant tanker in the Mediterranean Sea. The activists then brought them to Italy. The defendants include a doctor, the Mare Jonio's commander, and Luca Casarini, co-founder of the charity and a prominent left-wing activist. They all deny wrongdoing. "This is the first indictment of its kind," lawyer Serena Romano told Reuters. "All prior proceedings against NGO crews were shut down at the investigative stage or during preliminary hearings." The charges come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office in 2022, continues her long-running campaign to reduce immigration flows across the Mediterranean. The six defendants, five men and one woman, are accused of facilitating illegal immigration after they agreed to pick up the group of migrants, who had been stranded aboard the Danish tanker Maersk Etienne for more than a month. At the time, neither the Maltese, Italian nor Libyan authorities had let the tanker bring the migrants ashore, according to Maersk Tankers, the operator of Maersk Etienne. The group had been rescued from a sinking wooden dinghy near Malta as they sought to reach Europe. The Mare Jonio took them to Sicily. According to the Ansa news agency, prosecutors allege the rescue was financially motivated. They cite a 125,000 euro ($140,000) payment from Maersk to Idra Social Shipping, which owns the Mare Jonio. Mediterranea denies the accusation, calling the payment a "transparent donation" to support rescue efforts. Casarini, who was a friend of the late Pope Francis, said the trial, ordered by a court in Ragusa, would offer an opportunity to scrutinise official conduct during the incident. "We will call as witnesses the ministers and authorities who decided to leave 27 human beings adrift in the middle of the sea," he said. Meloni's government, in power since 2022, has enacted policies aimed at reducing sea arrivals and limiting NGO rescue operations, though the case predates her administration. Some members of the ruling coalition have accused the judiciary of looking to sink government efforts to prevent migrant crossings, included repeated rulings that have thwarted attempts to detain irregular migrants in Albania. Earlier this year, several Mediterranea members, including Casarini, were targeted with spyware. The government has denied involvement and called for an inquiry. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Italian activists face trial for migrant sea rescue in legal first
FILE PHOTO: The Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, with 34 rescued migrants on board, is seen in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo ROME (Reuters) -A Sicilian judge has ordered six members of an Italian charity ship to stand trial on accusations of aiding illegal immigration, the first time crew members of a rescue vessel have faced such prosecution, the group's lawyer said on Thursday. The case centres on a 2020 operation where the Mare Jonio charity ship, operated by the Mediterranea NGO, picked up 27 migrants who had been rescued by a giant tanker in the Mediterranean Sea. The activists then brought them to Italy. The defendants include a doctor, the Mare Jonio's commander, and Luca Casarini, co-founder of the charity and a prominent left-wing activist. They all deny wrongdoing. "This is the first indictment of its kind," lawyer Serena Romano told Reuters. "All prior proceedings against NGO crews were shut down at the investigative stage or during preliminary hearings." The charges come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office in 2022, continues her long-running campaign to reduce immigration flows across the Mediterranean. The six defendants, five men and one woman, are accused of facilitating illegal immigration after they agreed to pick up the group of migrants, who had been stranded aboard the Danish tanker Maersk Etienne for more than a month. At the time, neither the Maltese, Italian nor Libyan authorities had let the tanker bring the migrants ashore, according to Maersk Tankers, the operator of Maersk Etienne. The group had been rescued from a sinking wooden dinghy near Malta as they sought to reach Europe. The Mare Jonio took them to Sicily. According to the Ansa news agency, prosecutors allege the rescue was financially motivated. They cite a 125,000 euro ($140,000) payment from Maersk to Idra Social Shipping, which owns the Mare Jonio. Mediterranea denies the accusation, calling the payment a "transparent donation" to support rescue efforts. Casarini, who was a friend of the late Pope Francis, said the trial, ordered by a court in Ragusa, would offer an opportunity to scrutinise official conduct during the incident. "We will call as witnesses the ministers and authorities who decided to leave 27 human beings adrift in the middle of the sea," he said. Meloni's government, in power since 2022, has enacted policies aimed at reducing sea arrivals and limiting NGO rescue operations, though the case predates her administration. Some members of the ruling coalition have accused the judiciary of looking to sink government efforts to prevent migrant crossings, included repeated rulings that have thwarted attempts to detain irregular migrants in Albania. Earlier this year, several Mediterranea members, including Casarini, were targeted with spyware. The government has denied involvement and called for an inquiry. ($1 = 0.8868 euros) (Editing by Crispian Balmer and Sophie Walker)
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Royals and refugees to come together in Rome for funeral of Pope Francis
An extraordinary array of invitees, spanning heads of state and royals from around the world, as well as refugees, prisoners, transgender people and those who are homeless will descend on St Peter's Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the groundbreaking liberal pontiff who led the Catholic church for 12 years. Francis died at the age of 88 on Monday at his home in Casa Santa Marta after a stroke and subsequent heart failure. He had been recovering from double pneumonia that had kept him in hospital for five weeks. Tens of thousands of mourners filed into St Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to the late pontiff during the three days in which he lay in state. His coffin was sealed during a private ceremony on Friday night. The funeral mass begins at 10am local time and will be led by the Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of cardinals. With at least 130 foreign delegations attending, alongside an estimated 200,000 pilgrims, the funeral has required a huge and complex security operation in the Vatican and Rome, involving thousands of Italian police and military, as well as the Vatican's Swiss Guards, the smallest army in the world. Soldiers in St Peter's Square have been equipped with guns that shoot down drones, while rooftop snipers and fighter jets are on standby. A delegation from Francis's home country of Argentina, led by its president, Javier Milei, will be seated in the front row during the mass, with Italian leaders, including president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni, in the second row, and other heads of state and royals in the third. The US president, Donald Trump, who for years clashed with Francis over immigration, and his wife, Melania, are attending, along with Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. Other guests include the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British prime minister, Keir Starmer, French president, Emmanuel Macron, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Prince William. Zelenskyy said late on Friday if he was not able to travel it would be because he was in 'military meetings'. The 87-page order of service, written in English, Italian and Latin, was published on the Vatican's website in advance of the funeral. Pope Francis, a name chosen in honour of Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who renounced a life of luxury to help the poor, simplified rites for papal funerals last year and was very specific about the requirements for his own , including his guests. Invited to his funeral mass are delegations from Mediterranea Saving Humans, an Italian NGO that works to protect refugees who cross the Mediterranean, and Refugees in Libya, an NGO that campaigns on behalf of migrants and refugees held in detention camps in the north African country. Francis formed close friendships with both groups. 'He was a true disciple of Jesus – he spoke to everyone,' said Luca Casarini, founder of Mediterranea Saving Humans. 'There are those who listened to him, like us. He always encouraged us to save people at sea, to help them escape from Libya or Tunisia, and to welcome them. Then there are those, for example the powerful people, who did the opposite of what he told them.' Mahamat Daoud, who was held in a detention camp in Libya, where he experienced torture and other abuses, before surviving a treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Italy in 2023, is among the delegation from Refugees in Libya. Daoud met Francis at his home in the Vatican in late 2023. 'We are feeling really sorry about this death because he was the only pope who really stood with refugees and vulnerable people,' said Daoud. 'He helped us, not only when we arrived in Italy, but also when we were struggling in Libya.' Daoud hopes the funeral will be a unifying event. 'We will be alongside people who fight against us, who push us back or force us to live in harmful situations,' he said. 'But in the end we are all coming together for this funeral, and we really hope that it might have a unifying effect.' At the end of the funeral mass, Francis's simple wooden coffin will be driven slowly to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, about 2.5 miles away in Rome's Esquilino neighbourhood. The procession will make its way through central Rome, passing key monuments including the Colosseum. As requested by Francis, on arrival at the fourth-century basilica he will be given a final sendoff by a group of 40 people, including prisoners and homeless people. 'Since the beginning of his papacy, Francis set out to focus on people who might be considered the dregs of society by others,' said Robert Mickens, a Rome-based columnist for Union of Catholic Asian News. Francis is the first pontiff in more than a century not to be buried with great fanfare in the grottoes beneath St Peter's Basilica. Instead, his coffin will be entombed in a small niche that until now has been used to store candlestick holders. As requested in his final testament, the tomb will not be decorated and will be inscribed only with his papal name in Latin: Franciscus. The burial will be an 'intimate' event attended by Francis's relatives, a Vatican official said. Amid the funeral, speculation is rife about who will succeed Francis. Cardinals approved nine days of mourning from Saturday, with a conclave – the secret election process to choose a new pope – therefore not expected to begin before 5 May.
The Guardian
27-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Italian government approved use of spyware on members of refugee NGO, MPs told
The Italian government approved the use of a sophisticated surveillance tool to spy on members of a humanitarian NGO because they were allegedly deemed a possible threat to national security, MPs have heard. Alfredo Mantovano, a cabinet undersecretary, made the admission during a classified meeting with Copasir, the parliamentary committee for national security, according to a person familiar with the situation. Copasir is investigating whether the secret services breached the law in using Graphite, military-grade spyware made by Israel-based Paragon Solutions, to monitor activists and journalists, and is expecting to report on its finding soon. Giorgia Meloni's government has been under pressure to address the case since January, when a handful of Italian activists and a journalist received warnings from WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Meta, that their phones had been targeted by spyware. The government initially denied involvement, but Mantovano, who oversees the intelligence services, told the committee that the spyware had targeted Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia, the founders of Mediterranea Saving Humans, an NGO that tries to protect refugees who cross the Mediterranean. He said the spyware was approved by the government and the attorney general of Rome's court of appeal, and that the intelligence agencies used the surveillance system within the parameters of the law in order to conduct a 'preventive' investigation into illegal immigration. He denied the spyware was used to target Francesco Cancellato, the editor-in-chief of the Italian news outlet Fanpage. Mantovano's assertions, which were first reported by La Repubblica, have so far not been denied by the government. Paragon suspended its relationship with Italy when the breaches emerged, a person familiar with the matter told the Guardian. The company's spyware is intended for use on criminals. Mediterranea Saving Humans said it was informed about Mantovano's claims by journalist sources, adding in a statement that the 'secret operation worthy of a regime' had been 'unmasked to the world'. In addition to the Copasir inquiry, prosecutors in five cities, including Rome, Palermo, Naples, Bologna and Venice, are investigating claims after complaints were submitted by targets of the alleged spyware breach, who include Mattia Ferrari, a priest, and David Yambio, a humanitarian activist, both of whom have worked with Mediterranea Saving Humans. 'Five prosecutors are investigating and we trust someone will have the courage to get to the bottom of it and demonstrate, as is clear, that this is an abuse of power and nothing else,' Mediterranea Saving Humans added.
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Italian priest close to the pope was target of high-level surveillance, he reveals
An Italian priest who has a close relationship with Pope Francis and was previously in telephone contact with him was notified he had been a target of a sophisticated surveillance tool used by a government, a revelation that will increase pressure on Giorgia Meloni's government following a slew of similar cases. Father Mattia Ferrari is a chaplain on board the migrant rescue ship owned by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, whose founder, Luca Casarini, revealed this month that he was a victim of a military-grade spyware attack. Ferrari said he was notified by Meta, the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Threads, in February 2024 that he was the target of a 'sophisticated attack supported by unidentified government entities'. No further information was provided but the notification came a few months after Ferrari, Casarini, and David Yambio, an Italy-based human rights activist and also a spyware attack victim, had met the pope at his home in the Vatican. The meeting had been aimed at consoling a man from Cameroon who lost his wife and child in the desert between Tunisia and Libya in July 2023 after being returned there by Tunisian authorities. 'It wasn't pleasant news when I discovered that my phone had been attacked,' Ferrari told the Guardian. 'When I learned that Luca had been spied on, I knew that I too could be a target. I believe it's quite clear that government agencies are behind it. Unfortunately, for many years now, solidarity has almost become a crime.' Ferrari had been in close telephone with the pope and had met him on numerous other occasions, potentially including in the period when he was allegedly being targeted. Francis also wrote the preface to Ferrari's book. The pontiff, who is now in a critical condition in hospital battling pneumonia and other ailments, spoke about Ferrari during an interview on Italian TV in January: 'Father Mattia is a good guy, he works well,' the pope said. 'I spoke to him on the phone.' Ferrari said: 'Doing good for people, helping those in need, seems to have become a subversive act to be punished. It's a serious matter, and I hope someone will shed light on what happened. We now demand transparency and truth.' Opposition leaders have renewed calls for Meloni – whose administration has denied that domestic intelligence services or the government were behind the alleged surveillance attacks - to address the issue in parliament. Last week, Lorenzo Fontana, the president of the Italian parliament, acting on behalf of the government, signed a document that invoked a rule allowing the government to refrain from responding to questions on the scandal, claiming that 'all unclassified information has already been shared' and that any other details were under state secrecy rules. Francesco Cancellato, an investigative journalist, was also a spyware victim. 'The story of activists and journalists being spied on is taking on increasingly disturbing elements,' said Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic party. 'Mattia Ferrari, a priest active with Mediterranea was also spied on with software installed on his phone. The government, and in particular Giorgia Meloni, needs to stop running away and [must] urgently clarify who is spying on journalists and activists.' It is not clear who was behind the targeting of Ferrari. Casarini and Cancellato were notified by WhatsApp, which said the spyware used in the breach had been made by Paragon, an Israel-based company that has since suspended its relationship with Italy. Ninety people, including seven in Italy, were targeted in the breach. The Paragon-made spyware is intended for use on criminals. Yambio, meanwhile, was notified by Apple in November of 'a mercenary spyware attack' although it did not specify which surveillance tool was used. The matter is being investigated by researchers at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which tracks the targeting of civil society. 'This notification is concerning because it lands among the same group of people, but clearly indicates targeting with a different government-backed technology,' said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab. 'One warning about a government-sponsored attack landing among a group of people who know each other is a blinking red light. A handful of them clearly indicates something serious is going on.'
