The Italian state must pay over €76,000 to the German NGO Sea Watch after the detention of its vessel Sea Watch 3 in 2019 was ruled unlawful.
The case stems from Captain Carola Rackete’s high-profile defiance, described by activists as part of a broader anti-fascist action. In 2019, she docked in Lampedusa with 42 migrants picked up at sea during their journey from the Libyan to Italian coasts, despite explicit government orders not to enter Italian waters.
During her approach to Lampedusa, Rackete’s vessel rammed a Financial Guard patrol boat.
In response, the Italian Government seized the ship.
Yesterday, the Palermo District Court found the detention unjustified and ordered Italy to reimburse Sea Watch for port fees, fuel and legal costs incurred while the vessel was held.
Sea Watch is an international organisation active in the central Mediterranean, retrieving migrants from makeshift vessels operated by human traffickers and transporting them to Italian shores.
Many of the operations in 2019 were carried out by Sea Watch 3 under the command of Captain Rackete, a German citizen and self-described anti-fascist.
In June 2019, the ship sought a safe port for dozens of migrants stranded at sea but the Italian government, led by then-interior minister Matteo Salvini, refused entry under strict migration control policies.
For days, the vessel remained at sea while national and international pressure grew. Although unauthorised, Italian authorities sent doctors and supplies onboard to provide medical assistance to the migrants, many said to be in precarious conditions.
On June 29, 2019, Rackete entered Lampedusa’s port without authorisation, arguing that the migrants’ lives were at risk. Italian police arrested her and she faced charges of resisting public officials and endangering border security.
The case sparked global attention and a political storm in Italy, highlighting debates over humanitarian responsibility, national sovereignty and the unintended support of human trafficking operations. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges.
From 2019 to 2026, Sea Watch continued to challenge the detention in court. Administrative reviews assessed operational costs, legal arguments and government authority, culminating in the Palermo ruling ordering compensation.
Rackete continued her activism after 2019. In 2024, she was elected to the European Parliament with the German far left-wing party Die Linke, forming a bloc of anti-fascist MEPs with Italian politicians Ilaria Salis and Mimmo Lucano, both of whom faced legal challenges in Italy and, in Salis’ case, abroad.
Rackete stepped down from the European Parliament in 2025, while remaining active in migration advocacy.
The 2026 ruling has reignited debates over civil disobedience versus state authority. While Sea Watch hailed it as a vindication of their operations at sea, emphasising Rackete’s actions as necessary to protect human life, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly criticised the court ruling, calling it “a shameful news story” and “literally unbelievable”.
“Carola Rackete, in 2019, deliberately rammed a Financial Guard patrol boat to bring migrants into Italy illegally” and that “our military and coast guard personnel acted correctly in seizing the vessel,” Meloni said.
According to the PM, the ruling sets “a dangerous precedent, signalling that breaking Italian law can be sanctioned with state compensation”.
The episode underscores ongoing tensions across Europe between NGO-led migrant operations and governments enforcing border control.
