Trial Begins for Italian Officials Over Deadly 2023 Migrant Shipwreck
CROTONE, Italy – Six Italian law enforcement officials stood trial Friday, charged with failing to prevent one of the country’s deadliest migrant disasters in a decade. The proceedings, unfolding in a Calabrian courtroom, center on the February 2023 shipwreck off Cutro that claimed at least 94 lives, including 35 children.
The trial has reignited a fierce debate over Italy’s approach to sea rescues under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, which has framed migration primarily as a border security issue. All defendants—four officers from the Guardia di Finanza (GDF) and two coastguard members—indicated through their lawyers they intend to testify, according to ANSA news agency.
Prosecutors allege the officials committed involuntary manslaughter and “culpable shipwreck,” a charge under Italian law for negligent acts leading to maritime disaster. The overloaded vessel, carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Syria, had departed Turkey before it shattered on rocks near Cutro’s shore in the early hours of Feb. 26, 2023. About 80 people survived.
Court documents reveal a four-hour window of missed opportunities. A Frontex patrol aircraft spotted the boat around 11 p.m., roughly 38 kilometers offshore, and alerted Italian authorities. A GDF vessel was dispatched but turned back due to rough seas. Communication breakdowns and operational delays followed, prosecutors say, while the migrant boat drifted toward the coast without assistance.
“The weather conditions worsened, yet there was no escalation to a full search-and-rescue operation,” one prosecution filing states. “A coastguard offer of help was ignored, and no one monitored the boat’s approach or guided it to safety.”
In the aftermath, dozens of bodies washed ashore. A nearby sports hall was turned into a makeshift morgue, lined with coffins—the children’s painted white—as families arrived from abroad to identify loved ones. Authorities believe more victims were lost at sea.
Charity groups operating rescue ships in the Mediterranean, including SOS Humanity and Mediterranea Saving Humans, have joined the case as civil parties. They argue the tragedy reflects a systemic failure under policies that prioritize deterrence over humanitarian response.
“This trial isn’t just about individual negligence,” says Marco Bianchi, a human rights lawyer based in Rome. “It’s about a state apparatus that often sees migrants as a threat to be managed, rather than lives to be saved.”
Meloni, visiting Cutro after the disaster, blamed human traffickers and later toughened penalties for smugglers. Several traffickers involved in the case have since been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
But criticism persists. Elena Rossi, a volunteer with a migrant aid group in Sicily, reacts sharply: “They watched that boat for hours. Those children died because of a choice—a political choice to let the sea do the dirty work. This trial is a farce if it doesn’t confront that reality.”
Meanwhile, Luca Ferrara, a political analyst in Naples, offers a more measured view: “The legal system is now weighing operational failures against the immense difficulty of patrolling vast sea routes. The outcome could redefine duty-of-care standards for maritime authorities.”
Migration across the central Mediterranean remains perilous. While arrivals in Italy have dropped since 2023, over 1,340 people died attempting the crossing last year, according to UN data. Just this week, more than 50 people were reported missing after a shipwreck off Libya during Storm Harry—a reminder that the risks endure, and the legal and moral reckoning in Crotone is being closely watched across Europe.