BBC
Italy’s new far-right government has prevented 35 men from leaving a migrant ship which has been requesting access to an Italian port for two weeks.
Minors and people with medical issues were allowed to disembark in Sicily.
The Humanity 1 was one of four vessels carrying migrants waiting for permission to dock in Italy.
The new Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has promised to crack down on migrants travelling across the Mediterranean from North Africa.
Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe and since the start of the year 85,000 migrants have arrived on boats, according to the UN.
Many of the migrants set sail in small boats and are rescued by charity vessels during their journey.
In total 144 people were allowed to disembark the Humanity 1, which sails under a German flag, on Sunday morning.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said those who did not “qualify” as vulnerable would have to leave Italian waters and should be taken care of by the “flag state”.
The charity which owns the ship said the mood among the migrants is extremely depressed: “One person just suffered a breakdown,” Petra Krischok of SOS Humanity told the AFP news agency.
Preventing people who need help from disembarking goes against international law, the charity says.
Three other ships carrying around 900 people have also requested access to an Italian port but so far have not been allowed to dock.
In her first address to lawmakers, Italy’s new prime minister made the issue of immigration a priority for her administration.
Ms. Meloni stressed that she does not intend to “question the right to asylum for those fleeing wars and persecutions,” but added that “we must stop illegal departures and human trafficking.”
In a recent interview, she added that the nation where the ship’s registration is held accountable for the migrants on board; otherwise, the ship becomes a “pirate ship.”
Ms. Meloni is the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, a right-wing coalition that includes Silvio Berlusconi’s right-of-center Forza Italia and the far-right League. The Brothers of Italy party has its origins in Italian post-war fascism.
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