Pia Klemp, the captain of a migrant rescue ship who faces prison time in Italy after rescuing hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean, has refused a medal awarded by the city of Paris for bravery.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Klemp accused Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo of hypocrisy for recognizing her work, citing poor conditions faced by migrants in the French capital.Klemp, from Bonn, Germany, was awarded the Grand Vermeil medal in July alongside Carola Rackete, a fellow member of migrant rescue organization Sea-Watch. In 2017, her ship, the Iuventa, was seized by authorities in the Italian port of Lampedusa, and she was subsequently charged with assisting illegal immigration.
"On Facebook this week, Klemp directly addressed Hidalgo, writing:"Your police is stealing blankets from people that you force to live on the streets, while you raid protests and criminalize people that are standing up for rights of migrants and asylum seekers. You want to give me a medal for actions that you fight in your own ramparts.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Open Arms ship to be seized by Italian prosecutor, migrants to disembarkTensions rose on a rescue ship stranded off southern Italy, as migrants aboard jumped into the sea and tried to swim ashore. Read more:
Read more »
Migrants rescued after jumping overboard from ship being denied port in ItalyItalian coastguards rescued more than 10 migrants wearing life jackets who had jumped from a rescue ship stranded off southern Italy and tried to swim to shore Tuesday, according to a Spanish charity in charge of the ship. Almost 100 migrants were on-board the Open Arms ship at sea for 19 days. The
Read more »
Migrants jump overboard from rescue ship after being denied port in ItalyThe Italian coast guard rescued migrants who jumped from a rescue ship off the coast of southern Italy and tried to swim ashore. The ship was seeking permission to bring the migrants to shore, despite an Italian ban on docking private rescue ships.
Read more »
Desperate migrants leap off charity ship near ItalyMigrants on a rescue ship stranded off the coast of southern Italy jumped overboard and tried to swim ashore as the Spanish charity operating the vessel remained in a stand-off with the Italian government over the migrants' fate.
Read more »
Migrants disembark Open Arms rescue ship on Italian island of LampedusaNearly one hundred migrants who had been stranded on the Open Arms rescue ship o...
Read more »