The document states that those who “encourage, organize, finance or carry out the transport of foreigners to Italian territory” in conditions that put their lives in danger, will be punished with a prison term of 20 to 30 years, “if the death of more than one person is the unintended consequence of this act.” At the same time, in case of death of a person during transport, the penalty will be imprisonment for a period of 15 to 24 years.
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p class=””>The main catalyst that pushed the authorities to toughen the measures was the tragedy that occurred at the end of February in Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the east coast of Calabria. A wooden boat carrying migrants crashed on rocks during a storm in the Ionian Sea, killing 76 people, including many women and children. According to the media, the migrants paid between 7,000 and 15,000 euros to transport them to Europe. The Italian police in pursuit arrested three organizers of illegal activities.
According to the calculations of the Italian Interior Ministry, this year the number of migrants has tripled, exceeding the mark of 17.5 thousand people. After the Cutro episode, migrants began to storm the country with even more zeal – in the past four days, 4,000 refugees have arrived in Italy by sea. On the eve of the Italian coast guard conducted a series of rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea. In less than two days, around 1,300 people were removed from three ships carrying illegal migrants. In the near future, the situation is likely to get completely out of control, because, according to intelligence data, about 685,000 people intend to leave the detention camp in Libya and rush directly to the Italian shores.
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