A Sicilian court has lifted a house arrest order imposed on the captain of a charity ship who was detained for forcing her way into an Italian port with 40 rescued migrants.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he had hoped for a tougher response from the justice system but promised to expel German national Carola Rackete as soon as possible.
Rackete, 31, is accused of endangering the lives of four policemen aboard a patrol boat that was squeezed against the quay side as she disobeyed Italian military orders and entered the port of Lampedusa in her Sea-Watch boat early on Saturday.
She is also accused of resisting a warship order, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, and of aiding people smugglers under recent laws introduced to deter NGO rescue ships.
She has denied any wrongdoing and her lawyer, Alessandro Gamberini, told reporters she had apologised to the judge for hitting the patrol boat, saying it was accidental.
Rackete has become a kind of cause celebre for some in her homeland for defying Mr Salvini, who has vowed not to let any charity rescue boat disembark migrants on Italian shores.
Mr Salvini contends such rescues essentially help human traffickers who launch unseaworthy boats, crowded with migrants, from Libyan shores.
Supporters in Italy and Germany have pledged over 1.3 million euros for Sea-Watch in recent days.
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