Rescuers who saved thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean are facing 20-year prison sentences for "aiding and abetting illegal immigration." Kathrin Schmidt, head of operations aboard a rescue ship, and at least 20 others are involved in an ongoing trial in Italy. Schmidt claims the trial is politically motivated and part of a systematic criminalization of people on the move. In Greece, authorities have been criticized for their handling of an overcrowded fishing boat carrying an estimated 750 people, resulting in 82 deaths and hundreds still missing. The trial against the rescuers is draining resources and weakening political structures.

The post These people face 20 years in jail for saving others from drowning in the Mediterranean appeared first on Balanced News Summary.