ROME, 15 October 2021, (TON): The captain of an Italian-flagged ship has been sentenced to a year in prison for forcing more than 100 migrants back to Libya.

The verdict came at the end of a nearly year-long trial in the first case of its kind in Italy, with legal experts considering it a landmark in Italian legislation.

Seamen, representatives from the coast guard and NGOs, diplomats, and Italian parliamentarians were called to testify in front of judges.

“It confirms that Libya cannot be recognized as a safe landing place for migrants,” wrote Nello Scavo, a journalist from the Avvenire Catholic daily newspaper who broke the story with exclusive footage in 2018.

“From now on, any civilian ship involved in push backs to that country may face trial and conviction in Italy.”

The captain of the Asso 28 supply ship and a representative of Augusta Offshore, the company that owns the ship, were found guilty of violating international laws forbidding the forced return of people to countries where they are at risk.

Naples prosecutors Barbara Aprea and Giuseppe Tittaferrante said that on July 30, 2018, the Italian ship rescued 101 migrants near an oil and gas rig in international waters between Italy and Libya, before taking them to a Tripoli port and handing them to the Libyan coast guard.

They were rescued from an unseaworthy dinghy near the Sabratha platform, which is operated by Mellitah Oil & Gas, a consortium of Libya’s National Oil Corporation and Italy’s ENI.

Five children and five pregnant women were among those saved. Prosecutors said that no call was made to Italy’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, despite the rescue occurring within Italian jurisdiction.