Captain Arrested for Throwing Immigrant Overboard

(Agrigento, Sicily) From AGI News, Italian fishing boat captain Mariano Ruggiero, 46, has been charged with murdering an illegal alien.

According to reports obtained last night, in the offshore waters around fifty miles south of the Pelagius Isles, a dinghy with around 60 migrants on board which was making the crossing from North Africa, crossed courses with an Italian fishing boat.

One immigrant, probably of Somali origin, dived into the water and managed to reach the fishing boat, but the captain of the craft prevented him from staying on board, throwing him back into the sea. The event was reported by the other immigrants on their arrival at Lampedusa's reception centre.

Following this, the fisher boat in question also docked at Lampedusa and inquiries were immediately underway on the part of the Carabinieri, who gathered statement from other crew members to clarify the incident.

Ruggiero is in custody at Petrusa Prison, awaiting prosecution for murder. A search is underway for the body of the immigrant.

Apparently once illegals make it into the waters of the Mediterranean, European vessels are obligated to rescue them for processing as refugees and asylum-seekers. The policy is a grand idea from a humanitarian standpoint but it causes difficulties for European countries struggling with the problems of illegal immigration.