Six Italian officials charged after migrant boat deaths

Eighteen months after the sinking of a refugee boat in the Mediterranean, which is thought to have resulted in more than 100 deaths, Italy has filed charges against six officials.Members of the coastguard and financial police must stand trial for failing to provide assistance, judicial authorities reported on Tuesday.A smuggler from Turkey has already been sentenced to 20 years for the disaster. Three other suspected smugglers are also set to face trial.The boat had set off from Turkey in February last year, carrying more than 150 people, in an attempt to bring migrants across the Mediterranean to southern Italy.According to survivor reports, the severely overloaded ship capsized during an abrupt manoeuvre when the coast was already within sight. At least 94 people lost their lives, including many children. People are still missing.Four of the indicted officials belong to the Italian financial police, and two to the coastguard.The public prosecutor's office attributes the primary blame to the fin ancial police, asserting that they halted the search for the sunken ship after initial reports without even informing the coastguard, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported. The coastguard is later said to have falsified the logbooks.Italy's right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, dramatically increased penalties for smugglers and their accomplices following the tragedy, with sentences of up to 30 years in prison.People continue to lose their lives during the perilous journey of refugee boats across the Mediterranean to Europe.Source: Ghana News Agency