THE captain who defied Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini was freed from house arrest yesterday after a judge dismissed some of the charges against her.  

Italian police arrested Captain Carola Rackete on Saturday morning after she and the Sea Watch 3 crew disembarked onto Lampedusa 40 of the 53 migrants they rescued on June 12 from a near-certain death off the coast of Libya.

The EU-funded Libyan Coastguard demanded the Sea Watch 3 crew return the migrants to Tripoli, where a brutal war is raging in the aftermath of Nato’s bombing campaign and where human rights groups warn black migrants are being sold as slaves. Mr Salvini echoed the Libyan Coastguard’s demands. 

The vessel, which is operated by the German NGO Sea Watch, spent 17 days at sea, during which time 13 migrants were evacuated to Italy on medical grounds. 

At a court in Sicily yesterday evening, judge Alessandra Vella defended the ship’s decision not to comply and instead head to Lampedusa as Libya cannot be considered safe. 

However, the ship’s calls for a port of safety were rejected by Italy and Malta and ignored by France and the European Union. 

Fearing for the survivors’ mental wellbeing, Capt Rackete entered into Italian territorial waters last Wednesday in a state of necessity.

It was only after waiting for 60 hours with no assistance from the Italian state that she decided to take matters into her own hands and head for land.  

While carrying out mooring manoeuvres at Lampedusa’s port, the Sea Watch 3 knocked a border police motorboat that was attempting to block its way. 

Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggi claimed Capt Rackete rammed the ship intensionally and charged her with “resisting a war ship,” a crime punished by up to 10 years in jail. 

Judge Vella disputed this and said her resistance to the officials was justified “in the performance of the duty” to save lives. 

Capt Rackete said: “I was relieved about the judge’s decision which I see as a big win for solidarity with all people on the move, including refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, and against the criminalisation of helpers in many countries across Europe. 

“I would like to stress that the whole crew of the Sea Watch 3 made this possible. Even though the attention is on me, it was as a team that we rescued the people, took care of them and brought them to safety.”

On its official twitter account, Sea Watch said today: “We are relieved our captain is free! 

“There were no grounds to keep her arrested, as her only ‘wrongdoing’ was to enforce human rights on the Mediterranean and to take responsibility where none of the European governments did.

Later this afternoon the charity tweeted: “Last night, as we celebrated the release of Carola Rackete we received the horrible news: a belligerent attack on defenceless refugees and migrants, locked up in one of the notorious camps in Libya.

“We are ready to do our part:  Sea Watch 3 must be removed immediately from confiscation. It can accommodate up to 500 people. [It’s] high time for #FerriesNotFrontex.”

Capt Rackete is due back in court on July 9 to face accusations of abetting illegal immigration.