Pre-trial evidence gathering is set to begin May 7 in the case of an alleged people smuggler arrested on January 31 at Italy's Ancona port, following the disembarkation of the Ocean Viking.
The preliminary investigative judge of the Italian city of Ancona will on May 7 begin questioning migrants about an alleged people smuggler arrested on January 31 by police at the city's port after the disembarking of the Ocean Viking, an NGO migrant rescue ship run by SOS Mediterranee. The man arrested is a 36-year-old Egyptian national.
Six out of a total of 22 migrants that the suspect allegedly transported from Egypt on a six-meter-long dinghy he steered prior to arriving in international waters, where the NGO boat rescued its passengers, will be questioned.
One Syrian and five Pakistani nationals have stated that the man was the one to captain the boat. Their witness statements will serve as evidence in the case of a trial against the man arrested, whose lawyer is Emanuele Senesi.
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Aggravating circumstance of putting migrant's lives at risk
The man denies having been the smuggler. He was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting clandestine immigration with aggravating circumstances relative to the number transported -- over five -- and of having put the migrants' lives at risk.
The alleged smuggler was among the 111 migrants disembarked from the Ocean Viking in the Ancona port on January 31. Among them were people from Syria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and various areas of Africa, as well as 11 unaccompanied minors.
The man was arrested shortly after the disembarking after investigative work led to enough evidence for the case against him. After his arrest, the man was taken to the Ancona-Montacuto jail, where he remains.
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Second smuggler arrested in Ancona in recent months
On Dec. 17, another alleged smuggler was arrested and jailed in Ancona after the disembarking of migrants; in that case, it was from the Life Support boat run by the Emergency NGO.
The police mobile unit had managed to gather evidence against a 25-year-old Sudanese man for steering the dinghy rescued.
Other migrants had also, in that case, identified him as "the captain".
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