The government must compensate the migrants on board the Coast Guard vessel Diciotti, which was prevented from disembarking by the then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini from 16 to 25 August 2018 .
The joint sections of the Court of Cassation today accepted the appeal presented by a group of migrants who remained for nine days on the Coast Guard vessel that had rescued them.
The petition asked that the Italian government be ordered to compensate the refugees for non-pecuniary damages caused by the deprivation of liberty .
The quantification of the damage was deferred to the judge of merit, but the government was ordered to pay.
Matteo Salvini was also investigated for kidnapping in the affair, the Court of Ministers deemed the detention of the refugees illegitimate. The case was then transferred to Catania for territorial jurisdiction and the Catania Prosecutor's Office requested the case be closed .
The local court of ministers rejected it, asking the Senate for authorization to proceed for the leader of the League. But in Palazzo Madama (it was the time of the M5S-Lega Government) the Committee for Authorizations to proceed voted against.
« The obligation to provide rescue at sea – write the judges of the Court of Cassation – corresponds to an ancient rule of customary nature, represents the foundation of the main international conventions, as well as of Italian maritime law and constitutes a precise duty for all subjects, public or private, who have knowledge of a ship or person in danger existing in any sea area where such a need occurs and as such it must be considered prevalent over all the norms and bilateral agreements aimed at combating irregular immigration ».
(Unioneonline/L)
