Italy’s highest court on Friday ruled that the government must pay compensation to a group of migrants who were held for around 10 days in 2018 on a coastguard ship after being rescued in the Mediterranean.
At the time, just over 150 migrants were rescued by the Italian coastguard.
Then interior minister Matteo Salvini banned the migrants from disembarking the coastguard’s Diciotti ship in the port of Catania in Sicily.
They were only allowed to leave the boat after Albania and Italy offered to take in some of the group. The Catholic Church in Italy also offered to help.
Some migrants demanded compensation after the incident. Following Friday’s decision by the Supreme Court of Cassation, a court must now determine the exact amount of damages to be paid.
Italy’s right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, criticized the court’s decision, complaining that the government would have to use “the money of honest Italian citizens who pay taxes” to compensate people who “tried to enter Italy illegally.”
Salvini, now Italy’s deputy prime minister, called the ruling a “disgrace.” As interior minister, he sparked criticism for his “closed ports” policy towards migrant rescue ships.
