Italy’s highest court has ruled that the government must compensate 177 migrants who were stranded aboard the coast guard ship Diciotti in August 2018.
The Court of Cassation determined that the migrants, who were held for 10 days, were deprived of their personal freedom, entitling them to compensation. The exact amount will be decided in a future ruling.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the decision, calling it “highly questionable” and “very frustrating.” She argued that it would only distance citizens from the institutions, as taxpayer money will now be used to compensate individuals who attempted to enter Italy illegally. Meloni expressed her frustration in a post on X, stressing the financial burden on law-abiding Italian citizens.
The Diciotti had rescued 190 migrants from an overcrowded boat off Lampedusa in August 2018. While 13 of them were allowed to disembark for medical reasons, the remaining 177 were held on the ship after then-Interior Minister Matteo Salvini declared Italy’s ports closed.
Salvini, now deputy prime minister, denounced the court’s decision as a “disgrace.” In his own post on X, he suggested that the judges should personally pay for the compensation if they were so concerned about the migrants.
