Sea-Watch rescue ship committed no offence: Italian prosecutor

Migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3 committed no offences when it saved 47 migrants off the coast of Libya and delivered them to Italy, an Italian prosecutor said Saturday.
A joint investigation with police had not established any criminal responsibility in the conduct of those running the Sea Watch 3, said a statement from Catania prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro.
Sea Watch was detained at the Sicilian port for breaching navigation safety and environmental laws, the Italian coastguard reported Friday.
The prosecutor's analysis of their conduct - from when they saved the migrants on January 19 to their arrival at Catania on Thursday - concluded that all their actions had been justified.
The court had nevertheless opened an investigation into illegal immigration which, while not naming anyone in particular, was directly mainly at human traffickers, as happens with all migrant arrivals.

Zuccaro's ruling represents a setback for Italy's far-right, anti-migrant interior minister, Matteo Salvini. He insisted earlier this week that he had all the evidence required to prove the crew had committed offences.
Salvini said on Wednesday that he was looking at ways to ban migrant rescue ships from...