The 10 defendants were accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration. They were members of the crew of the NGOs JugendRettet, Save The Children, and Doctors Without Borders.
"This shows that helping is an obligation and that, as we have always said, solidarity is not a crime," says the secretary of the Democratic Party. "The humanitarian organizations involved in rescue operations at sea must be thanked and not criminalized," adds Elly Schlein, of the party. "Let's hope no one ever dares to call them sea taxis again," concludes Schlein. "A historic sentence," says the head of the Italian branch of the European Court of Human Rights. "We are not going to let this happen again," adds the president of the Spanish National Council of Liberties, "and we will not let it happen again." "We will continue to fight," says a spokesman for the European Council of Human Rights, "because that is what the European Union should do. "We will continue to fight," says a spokesman for the European Council of Human Rights. "We will not allow this to happen again. We will not allow this to happen again," adds a spokesman for the European Commission.