HUMANITARIAN groups which have helped rescue thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea had charges accusing them of collaborating with smugglers dropped by an Italian court today.

Judges in the Sicilian city of Trapani decided not to proceed to trial against 10 crew members involved in the long-running case.

Staff members from Jugend Rettet, Save The Children and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were fully acquitted of all the charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.

Italian prosecutors opened the case in 2017, accusing the NGO workers of serving as “taxis” for migrants, rather than rescuing them.

The rescue teams were alleged to have co-ordinated their search and rescue actions with human traffickers off Libya, returning dinghies and boats to smugglers to be reused, while rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean whose lives were not in real danger.

Italy’s Interior Ministry had joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff.

Today’s court ruling followed prosecutors’ surprise recommendation in February that all charges in the case, which the organisations slammed for criminalising their activity in the Mediterranean, be dismissed.

More than 20 people had been involved in the inquiry, including boat captains, heads of mission and legal representatives, facing charges carrying sentences of up to 20 years.

“The truth has been recognised,” Save the Children said after the ruling.

MSF stressed in a statement that its crew members had faced “seven years of false accusations, defamatory statements and a blatant criminalisation campaign towards organisations performing search-and-rescue operations at sea.”

The group added that it was “no time to celebrate,” saying: “Deaths in the Mediterranean are on the rise as attacks on humanitarian vessels, restrictive policies and deterrent tactics continue.

“Since 2023, Italian authorities handed out 21 detentions to NGO ships [meaning that there were] 460 days NGOs couldn’t help people in distress at sea.

“Saving lives is not a crime. Seeking safety is not a crime

“We stand in solidarity with our staff and colleagues from other NGOs who lived under the weight of accusations for doing their job.

“Despite all the false allegations, we continued and will continue to save lives at sea.”

Former MSF head of search-and-rescue operations Tommaso Fabbri, one of those involved in the case, said: “I hope that the outcome of this case sends a loud, clear message to any government: stop criminalising solidarity!”