A demonstration was held in front of the Italian consulate in Munich on Sunday, as people rallied in support of the captain of the rescue ship Sea Watch 3, Rackete, who was arrested Saturday after she maneuvered the vessel into the Italian port of Lampedusa despite the ban from Italian authorities.
Demonstrators carried signs in support of Rackete, who defied Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s policy of “closed ports” and brought 40 migrants rescued at sea to safety.
Green Candidate for mayor of Munich Katrin Habenschaden and NGO Ship Lifeline Captain Claus-Peter Reisch were among those seen at the protest.
“I mean, one can bring the people to Malta or Lampedusa, and from there distribute them throughout Europe, but one must first finally come to a government distribution agreement,” said Reisch, who was arrested in Malta himself after rescuing 234 migrants off the Libyan coast in June 2018.
He added: “The year 2019 has been the deadliest year in the history of the emergency sea rescue of the central Mediterranean Sea. There are so many deaths like never before. The survival rate is between 1/4 to 1/6, that means that for four survivors comes one death, and the quota moves between four and six survivors per death. This cannot be.”
Rackete, who’s now under house arrest in Lampedusa, could face 10 years in prison if convicted.