Italy's arrest of a German NGO boat's captain and the redistribution among other European countries of migrants saved in the Mediterranean was the focus of a phonecall Monday between foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi and his German counterpart Heiko Maas, according to a foreign ministry statement.
During their phone conversation, Moavero told Maas that Italian magistrates were "considering the position" of Seawatch3's captain, Carola Rackete, the statement said.
Rackete was detained early on Saturday after she defied authorities and docked at the Italian island of Lampedusa's port after nearly three weeks at sea with 40 rescued migrants aboard the Seawatch3.
Moavero informed Maas that the government was awaiting "trustfully and respectfully the decisions of the judiciary" on Rackete said the foreign ministry statement. She was held after she forced her way past a police boat that tried to block her - a crime punishable by three to 10 years in jail.
Movero pointed out to Maas that under Italy's Constitution, the judiciary is "totally independent" from the government, according to the statement.
"The two ministers agreed to update each other over the case," the statement noted.
"With respect to the wider issue of the relocation among European Union countries of migrants arriving in Europe, Minister Moavero recalled that Italy backs a comprehensive solution that goes beyond the current inadequacies and inconsistencies of EU norms, especially burden sharing on migration," the statement concluded.
Italian coastguard have seized the SeaWatch3, anchoring it just off Lampedusa, while prosecutors in Sicily have began probing Rackete on suspicion of abetting "illegal immigration".
