The German captain of a private ship that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea pleaded innocent on Monday to charges that he entered Malta's waters illegally and without proper boat registration.

At an arraignment hearing in the island nation's capital, Valletta, Maltese prosecutors asked a magistrate to order the confiscation of the vessel Lifeline. The boat's crew picked up 234 migrants in waters off Libya last month.

The destination of the rescued passengers became the subject of a dispute among European nations. Malta last week gave the ship safe harbor, but only after Italy and seven other nations agreed to each take some of the migrants.

Several hundred thousand migrants have arrived in Italy after sea rescue in recent years, and its new government refused to let the Lifeline dock. Maltese officials also launched an investigation to determine if the ship's crew violated maritime laws.

"We did the right thing," Lifeline Captain Claus-Peter Reisch after the arraignment, where his bail was set at 10,000 euros ($11,600) and he was ordered to surrender his passport and to report to a police station weekly.

The 57-year-old German was charged with using the boat in Maltese waters without proper registration or license. That charge also incorporates the allegation of entering Maltese waters illegally.

Defense lawyer Cedric Mifsud told reporters this his client and Lifeline appeared to be a "scapegoat" for a wider squabbling by European Union countries over how to manage the flood of migrants to Europe's southern shores.

"What we hope is that this case is not a symptom of the current Mediterranean climate, where governments are closing the EU's borders and targeting rescue NGOs for doing the jobs that governments should be doing," Mifsud said.

As for Malta, he added: "we suspect the Maltese government is picking on the Lifeline incident to make a political statement at (the) Brussels level, that borders need to be closed and that Europe will not tolerate NGOs rescuing refugees out at sea."

Some members of Lifeline's crew turned up at the court wearing T-shirts bearing the word "Save Lives." A white sheet emblazoned with the phrase, "Rescue ships blocked 400 dead" was held outside the courthouse.

The phrase apparently referred to the many migrants who are believed to have drowned in recent days off Libya. Italy and its EU partners say the Libyan coast guard should carry out rescues in its search-and-rescue area. Private aid groups have contended lives were lost because their rescue boat ships either aren't at sea, due to legal woes, like that of the Lifeline, or because Italy's coast guard says those rescues are Libya's responsibility.

The Libyan coast guard itself, already given training and equipment from Italy, says it needs more aid to properly save lives.

Italy's interior minister, Matteo Salvini, deputy premier in the government, leads an anti-migrant party. Many in his base associate migrants with crime. He has vowed to let no more aid groups' rescue vessels dock in Italy. </s> VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — The German captain of a private ship that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea pleaded innocent Monday to charges that he entered Malta's waters illegally and without proper registration, a case that reflects Europe's heightened determination to keep asylum-seekers from reaching the continent.

At Claus-Peter Reisch's arraignment in the island nation's capital, Valletta, prosecutors also asked a magistrate to order the confiscation of the vessel he directed to Malta, the Lifeline. The boat's crew picked up 234 migrants in waters off Libya last month.

The destination of the rescued passengers became the subject of a dispute among European nations. Malta last week gave the ship safe harbor, but only after Italy and seven other nations, in addition to Malta, pledged to each take some of the migrants.

Several hundred thousand migrants have arrived in Italy after being rescued at sea in recent years, many of them ferried to shore by private rescue boats. The right-wing interior minister in Italy's new, populist government, Matteo Salvini, has vowed that no more such vessels will dock in Italian ports.

The Lifeline, which was operated by German aid group Mission Lifeline, was the second aid boat caught in the Italian crackdown.

On Saturday, a third ship, Open Arms, run by a Spanish aid group, plucked 60 migrants to safety from a dinghy launched by Libya-based human traffickers. Italy and Malta traded jabs about which of the two countries should let Open Arms dock.

In the end, Spain agreed to let the vessel dock in Barcelona. The Open Arms was south of the Italian island of Sardinia Monday, some 300 nautical miles from its destination.

The aid groups say they are determined to save lives.

"We did the right thing," Lifeline Captain Claus-Peter Reisch after the arraignment, where his bail was set at 10,000 euros ($11,600) and he was ordered to surrender his passport and to report to a police station weekly.

The 57-year-old German was charged with using the boat in Maltese waters without proper registration or license. That charge also incorporates the allegation of entering Maltese waters illegally.

If convicted, he could be fined and sentenced to up to 12 months in jail.

"I don't think I have done anything unlawful. I saved 234 lives and assisted in two other rescue operations" with Mission Lifeline, Reisch said.

"Out at sea, women, men and children are dying. I didn't see the pictures of drowned bodies in the newspaper. I saw it with my own eyes," he added. "So when politicians say this should be stopped, maybe they should join us for one trip."

Defense lawyer Cedric Mifsud told reporters this his client and the Lifeline appeared to be a "scapegoat" for the squabbling among European Union countries over how to manage the flood of migrants to Europe's southern shores.

"What we hope is that this case is not a symptom of the current Mediterranean climate, where governments are closing the EU's borders and targeting rescue NGOs for doing the jobs that governments should be doing," Mifsud said.

He added that supporters of the rescue ship's crew "we suspect the Maltese government is picking on the Lifeline incident to make a political statement at (the) Brussels level that borders need to be closed."

While tiny Malta has taken in relatively few rescued migrants in the last few years, aid group vessels have taken advantage of the tiny island nation's strategic location between Sicily and Libya to make port calls for fresh supplies or crews.

But the Maltese government declared last week was closing its ports to all humanitarian rescue ships pending the outcome of its investigation of the Lifeline. Officials have said they want to determine if aid groups operate the ships according to national and international laws.

Some members of Lifeline's crew turned up at Valletta's courthouse wearing T-shirts printed with "Save Lives." They held a white sheet emblazoned with the phrase, "Rescue ships blocked. More than 400 dead," outside the courthouse.

The phrase apparently referred to the many migrants who are believed to have drowned in recent days off Libya. Italy and its EU partners have maintained it's the job of the Libyan coast guard to perform rescues in its search-and-rescue area.

Private aid groups contended that lives were lost because their rescue boats either aren't at sea due to legal woes like the Lifeline's or because Italy's coast guard says those rescues are Libya's responsibility.

The Libyan coast guard, already given training, motorboats and equipment from Italy, says it needs more aid to properly save lives.

In comments to journalists, Reisch, the Lifeline's captain, questioned the Libyan coast guard's competence and professionalism. "Their ships are carrying neither lifejackets nor medical containers" (kits). </s> VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — The German captain of a private ship that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea pleaded innocent Monday to charges that he entered Malta's waters illegally and without proper registration, a case that reflects Europe's heightened determination to keep asylum-seekers from reaching the continent.

At Claus-Peter Reisch's arraignment in the island nation's capital, Valletta, prosecutors also asked a magistrate to order the confiscation of the vessel he directed to Malta, the Lifeline. The boat's crew picked up 234 migrants in waters off Libya last month.

The destination of the rescued passengers became the subject of a dispute among European nations. Malta last week gave the ship safe harbor, but only after Italy and seven other nations, in addition to Malta, pledged to each take some of the migrants.

Several hundred thousand migrants have arrived in Italy after being rescued at sea in recent years, many of them ferried to shore by private rescue boats. The right-wing interior minister in Italy's new, populist government, Matteo Salvini, has vowed that no more such vessels will dock in Italian ports.

The Lifeline, which was operated by German aid group Mission Lifeline, was the second aid boat caught in the Italian crackdown.

On Saturday, a third ship, Open Arms, run by a Spanish aid group, plucked 60 migrants to safety from a dinghy launched by Libya-based human traffickers. Italy and Malta traded jabs about which of the two countries should let Open Arms dock.

In the end, Spain agreed to let the vessel dock in Barcelona. The Open Arms was south of the Italian island of Sardinia Monday, some 300 nautical miles from its destination.

The aid groups say they are determined to save lives.

"We did the right thing," Lifeline Captain Claus-Peter Reisch after the arraignment, where his bail was set at 10,000 euros ($11,600) and he was ordered to surrender his passport and to report to a police station weekly.

The 57-year-old German was charged with using the boat in Maltese waters without proper registration or license. That charge also incorporates the allegation of entering Maltese waters illegally.

If convicted, he could be fined and sentenced to up to 12 months in jail.

Defense lawyer Cedric Mifsud told reporters this his client and the Lifeline appeared to be a "scapegoat" for the squabbling among European Union countries over how to manage the flood of migrants to Europe's southern shores.

"What we hope is that this case is not a symptom of the current Mediterranean climate, where governments are closing the EU's borders and targeting rescue NGOs for doing the jobs that governments should be doing," Mifsud said.

He added that supporters of the rescue ship's crew "we suspect the Maltese government is picking on the Lifeline incident to make a political statement at (the) Brussels level that borders need to be closed."

While tiny Malta has taken in relatively few rescued migrants in the last few years, aid group vessels have taken advantage of the tiny island nation's strategic location between Sicily and Libya to make port calls for fresh supplies or crews.

But the Maltese government declared last week was closing its ports to all humanitarian rescue ships pending the outcome of its investigation of the Lifeline. Officials have said they want to determine if aid groups operate the ships according to national and international laws.

Some members of Lifeline's crew turned up at Valletta's courthouse wearing T-shirts printed with "Save Lives." They held a white sheet emblazoned with the phrase, "Rescue ships blocked. More than 400 dead," outside the courthouse.

The phrase apparently referred to the many migrants who are believed to have drowned in recent days off Libya. Italy and its EU partners have maintained it's the job of the Libyan coast guard to perform rescues in its search-and-rescue area.

Private aid groups contended that lives were lost because their rescue boats either aren't at sea due to legal woes like the Lifeline's or because Italy's coast guard says those rescues are Libya's responsibility.

The Libyan coast guard, already given training, motorboats and equipment from Italy, says it needs more aid to properly save lives. </s> A rescue boat stranded for nearly a week in the Mediterranean with over 200 migrants docked in Malta Wednesday, after a deal was struck between a group of EU states to take them in.

Lifeline, a vessel for the German charity Mission Lifeline, has been waiting to be allocated a port for six days after rescuing 234 migrants off the coast of Libya last Thursday.

The migrants on board will be distributed among eight EU nations who have agreed to take them in, Maltese Prime minister Joseph Muscat said Wednesday.

So far Malta, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium and France have agreed to welcome some of the migrants.

Muscat said that after the migrants had disembarked, the Lifeline ship would be impounded in order to carry out an investigation into its legal status and actions on the night of the rescue.

However, Muscat warned that the situation was "unique" and could not be considered a blueprint for handling future rescues.

Mission Lifeline has come under fire from EU leaders who accuse it of contravening international law by rescuing the migrants when the Libyan coastguard was already intervening.

Belgium and Luxembourg said they would each take 15 of the Lifeline migrants. The Netherlands will take 20.

Theo Francken, Belgian minster for asylum and migration, tweeted that Belgium would help Malta but that it must be one-off operation.

Many passengers were suffering from seasickness and three were in the ship's hospital facility, according to Lifeline. One passenger has been evacuated, leaving 233 currently on board.

The eight EU nations agreed to take in a share of those on board after days of bickering over the migrants' fate.

The NGO's co-founder Axel Steier blamed Germany's failure to participate in the deal on the country's hardline Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.

Seehofer has taken a strong stance on immigration and given German Chancellor Angela Merkel an ultimatum to curb arrivals to Germany.

Mission Lifeline has hit back at criticism levelled at it by EU leaders.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the charity had contravened "all the rules" by rescuing the migrants when the Libya coastguard was already intervening.

Macron accused Mission Lifeline of "playing into the hands of smugglers".

But the charity denied breaking the law in a statement on Wednesday.

"There have been a number of false accusations that Lifeline ignores orders by different MRCCs (maritime rescue coordination centres)," said Steier.

Lifeline argued the migrants would not be safe in Libya, where they have faced abuse and rape in holding centres, and that returning them there would breach international refugee law.

"The only order the ship denied was to hand over people to the so-called Libyan coastguard, as this would have been not in line with the Geneva Refugee Convention and therefore criminal."

The vessel's fate had been hanging in the balance since last week as bloc members remained at loggerheads over how to handle the influx of people trying to reach the continent.

Malta and Italy initially refused to take in the migrants, but on Tuesday Valletta agreed to let the ship dock when other EU states confirmed they would help.

Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini had hailed the news that a second migrant ship he had turned away was being taken in elsewhere.

Earlier this month, Rome rejected the Aquarius ship carrying 630 migrants, forcing it to eventually dock in Spain.

"For women and children really fleeing the war the doors are open, for everyone else they are not!" Salvini tweeted.

The decision by Italy's new hardline government to turn away rescue vessels has plunged Europe into a political crisis over how to collectively handle the huge numbers of people migrating from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Italy and Malta say they are unfairly bearing the brunt of the new arrivals, while other European countries are urging more forceful policies to block their entry.

Sixteen EU leaders held emergency talks in Brussels on Sunday in a bid to break the longstanding deadlock over who should take in the migrants.

A full EU summit is scheduled for Thursday and Friday. </s> Almost 350 migrants are stranded on two boats in the Mediterranean, including a Danish cargo ship, as a standoff between nearby European countries deepened on Sunday.

The boats include German rescue ship, Lifeline, which picked up 234 people and 17 crew members off the coast of Libya on Thursday; and a cargo ship operated by Danish transportation company Maersk, which picked up another 113 migrants off the coast of Libya on Friday morning.

Both boats have been barred from docking at nearby Italy and Malta, as the countries urged other European nations to take in the stranded migrants.

The standoff comes weeks after Italy and Malta refused to accept another rescue ship, the Aquarius, which was carrying over 600 migrants. After two days drifting in the Mediterranean the migrants were accepted by Spain, exposing the tough new policies of Italy’s hardline interior minister and leader of the anti-immigration League party, Matteo Salvini.

‘Dear Salvini, we have no meat on board, just humans’

Salvini doesn’t appear to be backing down on his tough stance anytime soon. Last week he warned the Dutch-flagged ship operated by the German nongovernmental organization Lifeline, currently stranded in the Mediterranean with over 200 migrants on board, not to dock in Italian ports.

“You (Lifeline) did a show of strength by contravening the indications of the Italian and Libyan coast guard. Now, you’ll carry this human load to the Netherlands,” Salvini said in a Facebook live video from his office.

On Sunday, Lifeline responded to Salvini in a Twitter post, saying: “Dear @matteosalvinimi, we have no meat on board, but humans. We cordially invite you to convince yourself that it is people we have saved from drowning. Come here, you are welcome!”

Similarly, Italy has also refused to allow the Maersk cargo ship, which is carrying over 100 migrants and is located south of Sicily, to dock in its ports. That’s despite the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center calling Maersk on Thursday night and asking for it to rescue the migrants, a Maersk spokesman told CNN.

The cargo ship had been traveling between Libya and Malta at the time, the spokesman said, adding that “it is now denied a port of entry and the company is awaiting further instruction from authorities.”

The ship is roughly three sea miles from the port of Pozzallo in Sicily, Italian Coast Guard press officer Commander Cosimo Nicastro told CNN. He added that of the 113 migrants rescued, five have since been brought to shore for medical reasons, including an eight-months pregnant woman and her partner, and a young girl that needed medical assistance with her mother and sister.

Lifeline ship near the coast of Malta

Axel Steier, a spokesman for Lifeline, told CNN Saturday that the ship was around 40 miles south of the Maltese coast.

However Malta has refused to allow the ship to dock, with Prime Miniser Joseph Muscat saying in a government statement that the rescue had taken place in the Libyan rescue zone and that it had been coordinated by the Italian authorities, and later by the Libyan authorities.

Given these circumstances, Malta is under no obligation to take in the ship, he said, even though the vessel is in the Maltese rescue zone.

That said, Malta has twice given food and drink supplies to the stranded ship, the Malta Ambassador to Italy, Vanessa Frazier, told CNN.

Meanwhile, the fiery exchange between Italy and Malta continued over the weekend, with Italian transportation minister Danilo Toninelli calling the Maltese decision not to allow the Lifeline to dock “inhumane” and “absurd” on his Facebook page on Saturday.

Malta’s Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Michael Farrugia, responded with tweets asking Toninelli to get his facts right and accusing Lifeline of breaking “international rules.”

Immigration continues to be a controversial issue for EU member states. During the recent federal election campaign that led to Italy’s new government — a coalition between the anti-immigrant League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement — Salvini promoted his party with an “Italians first” slogan and pledged to deport half a million migrants.

At an informal EU summit on immigration in Brussels on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared keen to manage expectations that European leaders could reach a broad agreement on migration, telling journalists that countries will need to work on bilateral and trilateral deals with one another instead of waiting for all 28 EU member countries to come to an agreement.

The Mediterranean remains the world’s deadliest migration route, despite sharp falls in the number of people trying to reach Europe by boat. That drop is partly ascribed to a deal struck between Italy and Libya last year, in which the southern European country pledged to bolster Libya’s coast guard so it could spot departing migrant boats and house migrants attempting to cross.

As of June 6, there had been an estimated 785 deaths on the route this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, with the majority of the 33,400 migrants and refugees arriving through Greece and Italy. </s> (CNN) Almost 350 migrants are stranded on two boats in the Mediterranean, including a Danish cargo ship, as a standoff between nearby European countries deepened on Sunday.

The boats include German rescue ship, Lifeline, which picked up 234 people and 17 crew members off the coast of Libya on Thursday; and a cargo ship operated by Danish transportation company Maersk, which picked up another 113 migrants off the coast of Libya on Friday morning.

Both boats have been barred from docking at nearby Italy and Malta, as the countries urged other European nations to take in the stranded migrants.

The standoff comes weeks after Italy and Malta refused to accept another rescue ship, the Aquarius , which was carrying over 600 migrants. After two days drifting in the Mediterranean the migrants were accepted by Spain, exposing the tough new policies of Italy's hardline interior minister and leader of the anti-immigration League party, Matteo Salvini.

'Dear Salvini, we have no meat on board, just humans'

Salvini doesn't appear to be backing down on his tough stance anytime soon. Last week he warned the Dutch-flagged ship operated by the German nongovernmental organization Lifeline, currently stranded in the Mediterranean with over 200 migrants on board, not to dock in Italian ports.

On Sunday, Lifeline responded to Salvini in a Twitter post, saying: "Dear @matteosalvinimi, we have no meat on board, but humans. We cordially invite you to convince yourself that it is people we have saved from drowning. Come here, you are welcome!"

Similarly, Italy has also refused to allow the Maersk cargo ship, which is carrying over 100 migrants and is located south of Sicily, to dock in its ports. That's despite the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center calling Maersk on Thursday night and asking for it to rescue the migrants, a Maersk spokesman told CNN.

The cargo ship had been traveling between Libya and Malta at the time, the spokesman said, adding that "it is now denied a port of entry and the company is awaiting further instruction from authorities."

The ship is roughly three sea miles from the port of Pozzallo in Sicily, Italian Coast Guard press officer Commander Cosimo Nicastro told CNN. He added that of the 113 migrants rescued, five have since been brought to shore for medical reasons, including an eight-months pregnant woman and her partner, and a young girl that needed medical assistance with her mother and sister.

Lifeline ship near the coast of Malta

Axel Steier, a spokesman aboard the Lifeline, told CNN on Saturday night that the ship is around seven to 10 hours from the Maltese coast.

However Malta has refused to allow the ship to dock, with Prime Miniser Joseph Muscat saying in a government statement that the rescue had taken place in the Libyan rescue zone and that it had been coordinated by the Italian authorities, and later by the Libyan authorities.

Given these circumstances, Malta is under no obligation to take in the ship, he said, even though the vessel is in the Maltese rescue zone.

That said, Malta has twice given food and drink supplies to the stranded ship, the Malta Ambassador to Italy, Vanessa Frazier, told CNN.

Malta's Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Michael Farrugia, responded with tweets asking Toninelli to get his facts right and accusing Lifeline of breaking "international rules."

Immigration continues to be a controversial issue for EU member states. During the recent federal election campaign that led to Italy's new government -- a coalition between the anti-immigrant League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement -- Salvini promoted his party with an "Italians first" slogan and pledged to deport half a million migrants.

At an informal EU summit on immigration in Brussels on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared keen to manage expectations that European leaders could reach a broad agreement on migration, telling journalists that countries will need to work on bilateral and trilateral deals with one another instead of waiting for all 28 EU member countries to come to an agreement. </s> ROME (Reuters) - Italy said on Friday Malta had refused to take in a Dutch-flagged ship carrying more than 200 rescued migrants and said the decision was “inhumane”, 10 days after shutting its own ports to a migrant vessel.

Migrants are seen on the deck of the Mission Lifeline rescue boat in the central Mediterranean Sea, June 21, 2018. Hermine Poschmann/Misson-Lifeline/Handout via REUTERS

The new stand-off between the neighboring Mediterranean countries arose as Italy’s new government has been pressuring European partners to shoulder more of the burden of immigration from North Africa.

Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli criticized tiny Malta on his Facebook page, where he also posted a photo of an email full of nautical information and signed by the Armed Forces of Malta inferring that it was not responsible for the latest ship as it was not in a “SAR (Search and Rescue) Situation”.

Anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has said the ship, the “Lifeline,” should take the migrants to the Netherlands since it is flying a Dutch flag.

Malta’s government spokesman said in a separate statement that the country was not the competent authority because initial “Search and Rescue” was done by Libya and that the ship had breached its obligations to oblige by Libyan instructions.

While Toninelli said the ship was in Maltese search and rescue waters and in difficulty, the Maltese email said the ship “has not manifested any distress”.

“Europe must intervene to remedy this inhumanity of Malta,” Toninelli said.

Maltese Interior Minister Michael Farrugia shot back with a statement saying “Toninelli should stick to the facts.”

Toninelli’s criticism of Malta as being inhumane was similar to accusations made by France, which earlier this month accused Rome of “cynicism and irresponsibility” for not letting the charity ship Aquarius dock in Italy.

That left the Gibraltar-flagged ship stranded at sea for days with more than 600 migrants on board - until Spain offered them safe haven. Malta had also refused to take in the Aquarius.

The tiny island nation has not taken in large numbers of people rescued at sea, while Italy has seen 650,000 arrivals since 2014.

The 234 migrants on board the Lifeline include 14 women and four small children.

While the number of sea arrivals to Italy has dropped dramatically this year - by more than 77 percent from 2017 - the new populist government has thrust immigration to the top of the EU’s agenda ahead of a summit of leaders next week.

Italy’s government, sworn in earlier this month after promising to raise its voice on immigration in Brussels, has sparred with France, Malta and Germany ahead of the meeting.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel played down expectations of a breakthrough at a hastily-arranged talks among EU leaders on Sunday on the migration dispute dividing Europe and threatening her own government. </s> An aid ship stuck at sea for six days will be allowed to dock in Malta, and more than 200 migrants on board will be distributed among eight European Union states.

The announcement by Malta’s prime minister Joseph Muscat ends Europe’s second impasse in recent weeks over the fate of people saved at sea amid rising political resistance to their welcome.

Mr Muscat said that once in port, the Lifeline Mission ship would be impounded and the crew placed under investigation for allegedly operating illegally – including violating rescue protocols and operating without the correct registration.

The migrants, who were rescued off Libya’s coast, would be vetted to determine if they are eligible for political asylum or if they are economic migrants to be sent back to their countries of origin.

Mr Muscat said Malta has no legal obligation to act since the rescue happened in Libyan waters, but said it was willing to act “before the situation escalates to a humanitarian crisis”.

The eight countries to accept vetted migrants from the ship are France, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Malta itself. It is unclear how many each would take. </s> VALLETTA: For the second time in a week, Malta on Monday detained a humanitarian vessel that normally rescues boat migrants off the coast of Libya, where two shipwrecks have claimed the lives of as many as 200 people in recent days.

The Sea Watch 3 vessel, operated by a German charity, requested to leave port after undergoing maintenance and the port authority refused, a Sea Watch spokeswoman said. The port authorities said only that the vessel's status was under review.

Another humanitarian ship, Lifeline, was detained last week after Malta for the first time in years opened its port to a large number of migrants, some 230, when Italy refused it safe haven. A new Italian government including the League, a far right anti-immigrant party, took power last month and has shut Italian ports to charity ships carrying migrants.

Lifeline's captain attended a court hearing in Malta on Monday in which the prosecutor said the ship was not properly registered. The groups operating both ships deny any wrongdoing.

"They are creating the conditions to make it impossible for non-governmental groups to operate at sea," Sea Watch's Giorgia Linardi said. "Against this background, people are dying and no one seems to care."

In two separate incidents, as many as 204 migrants have drowned since Friday after being packed into unsafe vessels by smugglers, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said. The incidents raised the toll for this year above 1,000 people lost at sea.

The humanitarian groups say they are being wrongly targeted by governments - Malta and Italy - that are seeking to stem migrant arrivals to Europe, and they say the policy spearheaded by the new Italian government is causing deaths.

Italy's far-right interior minister says the rescue ships are colluding with Libyan smugglers, a charge never proven in court and denied by the rescuers. Malta said last week it would no longer provide logistical support to the vessels under the suspicion they were acting illegally.

The flow of migrants into Europe has abated since a 2015 peak, with the number attempting the dangerous sea crossing from North Africa to Italy falling to tens of thousands from hundreds of thousands. The other main route, from Turkey to Greece, used by more than a million people in 2015, was shut two years ago.

But the journey by land through the Sahara and then across the Mediterranean remains world's deadliest migration route, and as polarising as ever in European politics. In addition to Italy, anti-immigrant parties are now firmly entrenched in the ex-Communist states of central Europe and won seats in the German parliament for the first time since the 1940s last year.

In Germany, the issue threatens to bring down Angela Merkel's ruling coalition.

A humanitarian boat run by Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms is heading for Spain carrying 59 migrants after Italy and Malta refused it a port, the third such case in less than a month.

During a hearing on Monday, Malta police inspector Mario Haber questioned whether the Lifeline ship, which says it operates under a Dutch flag, should have been registered as a yacht instead of a commercial vessel.

"The yacht is not registered with the Netherlands. It is registered with a Dutch yacht club but it isn't the flag state," Haber said. The court appointed "experts" to board the ship and inspect its contents, including its computers, with the prosecution saying it could not rule out charges.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud set bail at 10,000 euros for Lifeline captain Claus-Peter Reisch, adding that he must stay on his ship and cannot leave the small island state. Another hearing will be held on Thursday.

"What kind of world are we living in when sea rescuers are criminalised?" Reisch said in a statement before the hearing.
Italy and Malta refuse entry to a German vessel carrying 629 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya.