Meloni toughens the penalties for human traffickers after criticism of the management of the Calabria shipwreck

The Italian Government, chaired by the far-right Giorgia Meloni, has once again shown its strong hand in immigration policy, in response to the shipwreck on February 26 off the coast of Calabria, in which 72 people died trying to reach Europe .

The Executive, criticized for the management of the tragedy, held a council of ministers this Thursday in Cutro, the town where the sinking occurred ―the worst that occurred since 2013 in Italian waters―, 11 days later and between protests by citizens , as a "concrete sign" that his Executive "is attentive and focused on this issue," said Meloni.

Thus, the Government has agreed to toughen immigration laws and penalties for human traffickers,

As explained by the Prime Minister, a new type of crime of "death and injuries due to the trafficking of clandestine immigrants" will be introduced, which includes sentences of between 20 and 30 years in prison.

After the shipwreck, the Italian authorities arrested three alleged traffickers who work for criminal organizations that profit from these dangerous trips to Europe: a Turk and two Pakistanis, one of them a minor, who are accused of guiding the boat. that ended up running aground and splitting in two a few meters from the coast.

The precarious boat had set sail four days before from Turkey.

In a tense press conference, the media insistently asked about the reconstruction of the disaster, given the doubts about whether all possible means were used to rescue the boat, in which more than 180 people were traveling, when there was information about its existence. more than six hours before the shipwreck.

Meloni defended the official management, highly questioned in recent days.

“Do any of you consider that the Italian authorities have not done something that they could have done?” Launched the prime minister, flanked by her vice presidents, Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini.

And she defended that the European border agency, Frontex, issued an alert of "arrival of irregular immigrants", but did not warn at any time of the "danger of shipwreck",

Meloni at times raised her voice to the journalists who were asking her about the delay in helping the migrants and went so far as to hold Salvini's arm, who made insistent nods to some questions, although she hardly intervened.

The prime minister tried to focus attention on the legal reform and stressed that in the Penal Code the new crime will be considered "universal", so it can be prosecuted "even if it is committed outside national confines".

“We made this decision to make clear our determination to combat human trafficking, which is responsible for this tragedy.

Our response is a more firm policy”, the Prime Minister pointed out when commenting on the decree, which will enter into force automatically, but must be approved by Parliament in 60 days.

"The best way to honor the victims is to do what we can so that these tragedies are not repeated," said the leader of the Brothers of Italy.

The Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, affirmed that the objective of the Government is to capture the traffickers.

In practice, the new decree does not distinguish the traffickers who travel on the boats ―considered the last link in the criminal chain and who in most cases are immigrants who are forced to take the helm and are unrelated to organized groups. ― of those truly responsible for the so-called “voyages of hope”, who prepare the journeys, impose the extremely high prices, up to 6,000 euros in some cases, and stay ashore in their places of origin.

“Now the traffickers will be searched for throughout the globe, before immigrants were searched for in the Mediterranean,” Meloni pointed out.

The Executive also announced a tightening of migration policies, among other things, by restricting the so-called "special protection", a guardianship for vulnerable migrants added to the Italian legal system, like that of most European countries, to the provisions of international conventions on migration.

As Meloni confirmed, the Executive intends to end this type of protection, which Salvini already limited considerably in his management as Interior Minister during the Giuseppe Conte government stage.

The Meloni Executive has also approved regulations aimed at simplifying the process of expulsion of irregular immigrants and to improve the identification and expulsion centers (CIE) where they remain retained until their deportation.

It has also agreed on instruments to intervene in immigrant reception centers in the event of opaque management.

The leader insisted that the objective of the new rules is to project a message: "It is not convenient to enter Italy illegally, it is not convenient to pay traffickers, it is not convenient to risk your life."

Meloni also announced that Italy will promote the so-called "flow decrees", which for years have established legal entry quotas for immigrants from outside the European Union based on the economy.

It will be the first time that the Cabinet uses this tool, which has already been used by many governments in the past.

Meloni has clarified that legal immigration will be favored from countries that combat human trafficking and in which "emigrants are informed about the risks of paying traffickers to reach Europe."

The Prime Minister has been widely criticized for not having personally gone to Calabria after this latest disaster, as the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, did.

Meloni decided to celebrate her council of ministers "symbolically" in the Calabrian town of Cutro, where some neighbors received her and her team with applause from her and others with boos and shouts of "murderers" and "shame." ”.

Many threw stuffed animals against the official cars of the ministers, in protest, since part of the 72 victims of the shipwreck were children.

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