Refugee rescuers charged in Italy with complicity in people smuggling

Staff of charities including Save the Children and MSF among dozens facing sentences of up to 20 years over humanitarian work

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After an investigation lasting almost four years, Italian prosecutors have charged dozens of rescuers, from charities including Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres, who were accused of collaborating with people smugglers after saving thousands of people from drowning in the Mediterranean.

Investigators in Trapani, Sicily, formally closed the inquiry on Monday and charged more than 20 people, including boat captains, heads of mission and legal representatives, with crimes carrying sentences of up to 20 years.