Maltese authorities have charged three young African migrants with committing an act of terrorism by hijacking a ship that rescued them off the coast of Libya on Saturday.

Two teenagers from Guinea and one from Ivory Coast, aged 15, 16 and 19, are accused of forcing the Palau-flagged tanker Elhiblu 1 towards Malta after it picked up 108 migrants, including women and children, on Wednesday and headed towards its destination in Libya.

A Maltese special operations unit boarded the ship a day later and arrested five men suspected of leading the hijacking.

They handed control back to the captain who steered the ship to Valletta under a navy escort.

The three migrants, who were charged at a Maltese court with seizing control of the ship through the use or threat of force and intimidation, pleaded not guilty and were placed in preventive detention pending trial.

They face prison terms of between seven and 30 years if convicted.

The ship's captain told Maltese media the hijackers 'were desperate and absolutely did not want to return to Libya.

'Panic and confusion erupted when the migrants understood that we were going back,' to a country where migrants face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape according to the United Nations and aid groups.

Following Italy's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, vessels that pick up migrants crossing the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Boatloads of rescued migrants have in recent months refused to disembark there however, prompting local authorities to use force.

Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini had earlier said the ship, an 846-tonne tanker, had been bound for Libya after picking up the migrants but had been taken over and turned towards Europe.

Salvini, a hardliner who has repeatedly refused entry to Mediterranean migrants, claimed the ship with 108 migrants on board was heading for Malta or the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Both countries said El Hiblu 1 would not be allowed to enter their national waters.

'We received reports of a pirated ship heading towards Malta or Lampedusa (off Sicily) and we're monitoring the situation,' a Maltese coastguard spokesman told AFP.

Refusing to let the migrants into Italy, Salvini tweeted: 'They're not shipwrecked, they're pirates.

'They should know that they will only see Italy with a telescope.'

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that Salvini said: 'It would be the first act of piracy on the high seas, with migrants who have hijacked a ship that had reached six nautical miles [seven miles] off the Libyan coast.'

The agency reports that the migrants had realised they were returning towards Tripoli and had threatened the freighter's commander and crew.

The reported line echoes Salvini's language last year when he said migrants would only see the country 'on a postcard'.

The 46-year-old has spearheaded the migration crackdown since he became interior minister and deputy PM last year.

He has turned away rescue ships operated by foreign NGOs, such as the Aquarius, which was left stranded with 630 migrants last June after being refused entry to Italy.

Following Rome's increasingly tough anti-migrant stance, boats that pick up migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean increasingly return them to Libya.

Several boatloads of migrants rescued in recent months have refused to disembark in Libya, prompting the authorities there to use force.

Migrant arrivals from North Africa and the Middle East have been sharply reduced since a 2015 peak when Europe faced its worst migration crisis since World War II.

Salvini has accused the rescue missions of playing into the hands of people smugglers.

He was sworn in after striking a deal to form a government with the Five Star Movement, an agreement that brought Italy a populist government after three months of post-election deadlock.

On Monday Salvini vowed to 'change Europe' after his League party - which he transformed into a national force - won a regional election.

Spain's socialist PM Pedro Sanchez, who also came to power last year, has taken a more liberal approach. </s> VALLETTA, Malta — A group of migrants desperate not to go back to Libya made it safely to Europe on Thursday after commandeering the oil tanker that rescued them at sea – a drama that underlined contradictions in Europe’s migration policies and could discourage future rescues.

Both Italy and Malta initially refused entry to the Palau-flagged El Hiblu 1. But Maltese armed forces intercepted it overnight after confirming with the captain that he was navigating toward Europe against his will. Special forces boarded it and restored control to the crew.

The 100 migrants, including 15 women and 47 claiming to be minors, left the tanker in a port near the Maltese capital of Valletta; five were handcuffed after being detained on suspicion of being the ringleaders.

Italy’s hard-line interior minister called the hijacking the “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants.” But humanitarian groups rejected that label, saying they were victims of “Europe’s inhumane border policy,” citing reports that many migrants have been mistreated, raped and tortured in Libya.

The German humanitarian group Sea-Eye said its rescue ship, the Alan Kurdi, was in the area of the El Hiblu 1 when it heard radio communications between the tanker and a European aircraft monitoring the seas.

The aircraft asked the tanker to respond to two rubber boats, saying that the people on board were “in mortal danger” and that the Libyan coast guard was “out of service.” After the rescue, the captain reported to the aircraft that the migrants “are very upset and do not want to be brought back to Libya.” However, the captain said the Libyan capital of Tripoli was the tanker’s destination.

Sea-Eye spokeswoman Carlotta Weibl said that they don’t have exact information of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1, but that “we don’t see it as piracy because those people were claiming their right. It was completely illegal for a European plane to send them back to Libya.”

Migrants have long reported that commercial ships either ignore smugglers’ boats in distress, or merely stop to give them water, said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, humanitarian affairs adviser with Doctors Without Borders. Similar incidents could accelerate the trend.

“They are doomed whatever they do,” she said. “This is extremely disturbing for commercial ships. The shipping industry is trying to follow a tenant of international law, which is rescue. … But if you are a commercial ship on tight deadlines and you need to deliver goods, it is an impossible situation.”

The International Chamber of Shipping based in London expressed concern about the incident and said it would raise the issue with the U.N. International Maritime Organization.

“If a ship is directed to disembark rescued people in Libya, it creates a potential for conflict between the crew and desperate and frustrated people that might object to being returned,” ICS secretary-general Guy Platten said in a statement. He added that civilian merchant seafarers “can be severely affected by the traumatic situations they have to face, having complied with their legal and humanitarian obligation to come to the rescue of anyone found in distress at sea.”

The European Union has been training the Libyan coast guard in the hope that it will prevent migrants from entering international waters, where they have routinely been rescued, either by commercial ships or those run by humanitarian groups filling in the void after member countries significantly scaled down an EU operation in the Mediterranean.

But the contradiction lies in the fact that no EU member considers Libya, or any other northern African country, to be a “safe third country” where migrants can be returned without fear for their well-being. The EU also opposes the death penalty, and in extradition cases generally refuses to send people to countries where they might be killed or tortured.

Matthew Brook, the acting representative for the U.N. refugee agency in Libya, told reporters in Geneva that the conditions for many migrants in government-run detention centers in Libya were “terrible.” He relayed an anecdote from some migrants that electric shocks were administered to them in vats of water.

While Europe is reducing its own rescue mission, Italy and Malta have refused to accept aid group rescue ships in their ports. That has led to offshore standoffs with boats loaded with migrants, often weak from their journey and mistreatment in Libya, while EU nations haggle over their fate.

Many humanitarian groups have stopped taking part in rescues; in fact only the Alan Kurdi is currently active in the central Mediterranean. Doctors Without Borders suspended their operation in December due to port closures, administrative pressure on Panama to pull its flag, and containment measures meaning that fewer migrants were making it past the Libyan coast guard.

The policies have had the effect desired by populist leaders like Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Migrant arrivals in Italy were down dramatically last year to 23,370 from nearly 120,000 a year earlier, according to Interior Ministry figures. Deaths at sea also sank to the lowest levels in five years, 2,299, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Details of what happened aboard the El Hiblu 1 remains sketchy, but the fact that the migrants made it to European soil makes it unlikely that they would be sent back to Libya.

Naval tracking signals show that the tanker was headed straight toward Libya when it deviated from its course, presumably for the rescue. After resuming toward Libya, it abruptly turned northward, suggesting the moment the hijackers took over, heading toward the island nation of Malta or Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa.

Maltese armed forces established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles offshore. The captain said he was not in control of the vessel “and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta,” the armed forces said.

A military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media said the migrants did not have weapons, but that the captain and crew were outnumbered and forced to surrender. Special forces backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter regained control of the ship, and it was escorted back to Malta with armed military personnel standing guard on deck.

The condition of the crew was not known, and they were not seen exiting the tanker. Malta officials said they were also being questioned.

The vessel’s owner, Salah al-Hiblu, said from Tripoli that the tanker was empty and was being captained by his brother, Nader, from Turkey. He said he received a call from Libyan naval guards, who asked him to contact his brother to rescue the migrants. They had resumed the voyage to Tripoli when the migrants “used force” and told him to go to Italy or Malta.

“The migrants told him, ‘we are not leaving or going back to Libya. We already left Libya to go to Europe,'” al-Hiblu said. </s> Valletta, Malta (AP) — Migrants hijacked a cargo ship that rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe, authorities in two European countries said.

Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, identified the ship as the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1. He said the tanker had rescued about 120 people and described what was happening as “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants” as alleged hijackers.

The new route put the ship on a route to Italy’s Lampedusa island and the island nation of Malta. The governments of both countries vowed to keep it from their territorial waters in the Mediterranean.

“Poor castaways, who hijack a merchant ship that saved them because they want to decide the route of the cruise,” Salvini, who heads the anti-migrant League party, was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

There was no immediate word on the condition of El Hiblu 1’s crew. Other information about the reported hijacking was unavailable or difficult to confirm while the vessel remained at sea.

Italian media reports said the crew planned to take the group it rescued and was headed that way when migrants seized control of the ship six miles from the Libyan coast.

A private group that operates a rescue ship and monitors how governments treat migrants, Mediterranea, urged compassion for the group on the hijacked vessel and said it hoped European countries would act “in the name of fundamental rights, remembering that we are dealing with human beings fleeing hell.”

The Armed Forces of Malta said military personnel were standing by and the tanker still was in Libyan territorial waters as of early Wednesday night.

A Maltese military official told Maltese media the ship was carrying 108 migrants. The official was not authorized to speak to reporters and requested anonymity.

The official also said Malta would not allow the hijacked tanker to enter the country’s waters.

Italy’s Salvini said weather conditions were not good and it was unclear if the tanker would end up approaching Malta or Lampedusa island. But he had a message for the pirates: “Forget about Italy.”

Mass migration to Europe has dropped sharply since 2015, when the continent received one million refugees and migrants from countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The surge created a humanitarian crisis in which desperate travelers frequently drowned and leading arrival spots such as Italy and Greece struggled to house large numbers of asylum-seekers.

Along with the dangerous sea journey itself, those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean risk being stopped by Libya’s coast guard and held in Libyan detention centers that human rights groups have described as bleak places where migrants allegedly suffer routine abuse.

EU members “alert the Libyan coast guard when refugees and migrants are spotted at sea so they can be taken back to Libya, despite knowing that people there are arbitrarily detained and exposed to widespread torture, rape, killings and exploitation,” Matteo de Bellis, an international migration researcher for Amnesty International, said. ”

European Union member countries, responding to domestic opposition to welcoming immigrants, have decided to significantly downscale an EU operation in the Mediterranean, withdrawing their ships and continuing the mission with air surveillance only.

EU officials on Wednesday lamented the move, while Amnesty International and other groups responded by reiterated its view that Europe’s collaboration with Libya to stem migration was a human rights outrage.

“This shameful decision has nothing to do with the needs of people who risk their lives at sea, but everything to do with the inability of European governments to agree on a way to share responsibility for them,” de Bellis said. </s> A Maltese special operations team on Thursday boarded a tanker that had been hijacked by migrants it rescued at sea, and returned control to the captain, Malta's armed forces said.

The tanker was being escorted to a Maltese port, where the migrants will be turned over to police for investigation, they said.

Authorities in Italy and Malta on Wednesday said that the migrants had hijacked the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea, and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.

Italy's interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said the ship had rescued about 120 people and described what happened as "the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants" as the alleged hijackers.

The ship had been heading toward Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa and the island of Malta when Maltese forces intercepted it.

Maltese armed forces established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles off shore. The captain told Maltese armed forces he was not in control of the vessel "and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta." A patrol vessel stopped the tanker from entering Maltese waters, they said.

The special team that restored control to the captain was backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter.

There was no immediate word on the condition of El Hiblu 1's crew.

Humanitarian organizations say that migrants are mistreated and even tortured in Libya, and have protested protocols to return migrants rescued offshore to the lawless northern African nation. Meanwhile, both Italy and Malta have refused to open their ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants at sea, which has created numerous standoffs as European governments haggle over which will take them in.

A private group that operates a rescue ship and monitors how governments treat migrants, Mediterranea, urged compassion for the group on the hijacked vessel and said it hoped European countries would act "in the name of fundamental rights, remembering that we are dealing with human beings fleeing hell."

Mass migration to Europe has dropped sharply since 2015, when the continent received 1 million refugees and migrants from countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The surge created a humanitarian crisis in which desperate travelers frequently drowned and leading arrival spots such as Italy and Greece struggled to house large numbers of asylum-seekers.

Along with the dangerous sea journey itself, those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean risk being stopped by Libya's coast guard and held in Libyan detention centers that human rights groups have described as bleak places where migrants allegedly suffer routine abuse.

EU members "alert the Libyan coast guard when refugees and migrants are spotted at sea so they can be taken back to Libya, despite knowing that people there are arbitrarily detained and exposed to widespread torture, rape, killings and exploitation," said Matteo de Bellis, an international migration researcher for Amnesty International.

European Union member countries, responding to domestic opposition to welcoming immigrants, have decided to significantly downscale an EU operation in the Mediterranean, withdrawing their ships and continuing the mission with air surveillance only.

"This shameful decision has nothing to do with the needs of people who risk their lives at sea, but everything to do with the inability of European governments to agree on a way to share responsibility for them," de Bellis said. </s> VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — A Maltese special operations team seized a tanker Thursday that had been hijacked by migrants it rescued at sea, and returned control to the captain who was sailing toward a Maltese port with the migrants and crew, armed forces said.

The migrants would be turned over to police for investigation, armed forces said.

Authorities in Malta and Italy said the migrants had hijacked the cargo ship Wednesday after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.

Italy's interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 had rescued about 120 people and described what happened as "the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants" as the alleged hijackers.

It had been heading toward Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa and the island of Malta when Maltese forces intercepted it.

The captain had told Maltese armed forces he was not in control of the vessel "and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta." A patrol vessel stopped the tanker from entering Maltese waters, they said.

The special team that restored control to the captain was backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter.

There was no immediate word on the condition of El Hiblu 1's crew. </s> VALLETTA, Malta — A Maltese special operations team boarded a tanker on Thursday that had been hijacked by migrants after they were rescued at sea, returning control to the captain and escorting it to a Maltese port.

Armed military personnel stood guard on the ship’s deck, and a dozen or so migrants were also visible, as the vessel docked at Boiler Wharf in the Maltese city of Senglea. Several police vans were lined up on shore to take custody of the migrants for investigation.

The authorities in Italy and Malta said on Wednesday that the group had hijacked the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 after it rescued the migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, and then forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.

Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, who has taken hard line against immigration, said the ship had rescued about 120 people and contended that what happened represented “piracy on the high seas with migrants.” Malta has put the number of migrants rescued at 108. </s> Ship reported hijacked near Libya by migrants rescued at sea

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — The military of European island nation Malta is reporting that migrants have hijacked a cargo ship in Libyan waters.

The Armed Forces of Malta said military personnel were standing by and the hijacked vessel still was in Libyan territory on Wednesday night.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini says the ship's crew rescued a group of migrants who are thought to have taken control and to be directing the ship toward Malta or Italy's Lampedusa island.

Salvini said "it would be the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants that hijacked" a cargo ship. </s> A Maltese special operations team boarded a tanker Thursday that had been hijacked by migrants rescued at sea and recaptured control of it before escorting it to a Maltese port. Italy’s hard-line interior minister slammed the migrants as pirates, but aid groups rejected that label, saying the European Union’s policy of sending migrants back to lawless Libya was to blame.

Armed military personnel stood guard on the ship’s deck, and a dozen or so migrants were also visible, as the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1 docked Thursday at Boiler Wharf in the city of Senglea. Five suspected ringleaders were led off in handcuffs.

In all, the Turkish tanker rescued 77 men, 19 women and 12 minors, including toddlers, Malta officials said. One pregnant woman and one child were being treated at a hospital as a precaution.

Authorities in Italy and Malta on Wednesday said the group had hijacked the vessel after it rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe.

Maltese armed forces established communications with the captain while the ship was still 30 nautical miles offshore. The captain said he was not in control of the vessel “and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta,” the armed forces said.

No details were given of what force or threats were used, and there was no immediate word on the condition of El Hiblu 1’s crew.

A military official not authorized to speak to the media said the migrants did not have weapons but that the captain and crew were outnumbered and compelled to surrender.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday described the takeover as “the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants” as the alleged hijackers.

Salvini, who insisted the ship would not be allowed to dock in Italy on Thursday praised the interception by Malta.

“Immigration is managed by criminals and should be blocked by any legal means necessary,” Salvini was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.

Humanitarian organizations rejected Salvini’s characterization of piracy, saying that migrants have been repeatedly mistreated, raped and tortured in Libya. They have long protested EU protocols to return migrants rescued offshore to the lawless northern African nation.

The aid group Sea Watch said the migrants’ actions “were in self-defense against the deadly consequences forced upon them by Europe’s inhumane border policy.”

The ship had been heading toward Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa and the island nation of Malta when Maltese forces intercepted it. The special team that restored control to the captain was backed by a patrol vessel, two fast interceptor craft and a helicopter.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter that the nation’s armed forces had conducted a “sensitive operation on high seas.”

“We do not shirk responsibility despite our size,” he said, pledging to follow international rules.

Still, both Italy and Malta have refused to open their ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants at sea, which has created numerous standoffs as European governments haggle over who will take them in.

A private group that operates a rescue ship and monitors how governments treat migrants, Mediterranea, urged compassion for the group on the hijacked vessel in Malta. It said it hoped European countries would act “in the name of fundamental rights, remembering that we are dealing with human beings fleeing hell.”

Mass migration to Europe has dropped sharply since 2015, when the continent received 1 million refugees and migrants from countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The surge created a humanitarian and political crisis in which desperate migrants frequently drowned at sea when overloaded smuggling boats capsized. Key arrival spots such as Italy and Greece have then struggled to house large numbers of asylum-seekers.

Along with the dangerous sea journey itself, those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean risk being stopped by Libya’s coast guard and held in Libyan detention centers where human rights groups say beatings, rapes, abuse and torture are routine.

EU members “alert the Libyan coast guard when refugees and migrants are spotted at sea so they can be taken back to Libya, despite knowing that people there are arbitrarily detained and exposed to widespread torture, rape, killings and exploitation,” said Matteo de Bellis, an expert on migrants for Amnesty International.

European Union countries, facing some domestic opposition to welcoming immigrants, have decided to significantly downscale an EU rescue operation in the Mediterranean and have decided in principle to withdraw their ships, which would mean continuing the mission with air surveillance only. A formal decision has to be made by Sunday, when the mission’s mandate expires.

“This shameful decision has nothing to do with the needs of people who risk their lives at sea, but everything to do with the inability of European governments to agree on a way to share responsibility for them,” De Bellis said.

Commercial ships have been increasingly caught between European governments hostile to taking in new migrants and the international maritime law’s obligation to save people needing help at sea.

In November, dozens of migrants seized control of a container ship that had picked them up in the Mediterranean, barricading themselves inside and refusing to disembark in the Libyan port of Misrata. After 10 days, Libyan authorities forcibly removed them from the ship and brought them to a detention center.

During the standoff, several migrants on the vessel told the Associated Press that six commercial ships had seen their rickety boat foundering but passed them by before they were picked up by the seventh. </s> VALLETTA (Reuters) - A small tanker that was hijacked by migrants off Libya docked in Malta’s port of Valletta on Thursday after Maltese special forces took control of the vessel, a Reuters witness said.

Cargo ship Elhiblu 1 had picked up 108 migrants stranded at sea, some of whom then hijacked the vessel when it became clear that it planned to take them back to Libya.

Maltese police arrested four men and the remainder of the migrants were disembarked and boarded onto buses, the witness said.

A Maltese military patrol boat stopped the ship from entering Maltese waters and a special operations team was then dispatched to board and secure the vessel, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said in a statement on Thursday.

The team was backed by two fast interceptor craft, another patrol boat and a helicopter, the AFM said.

“The captain repeatedly stated that he was not in control of the vessel and that he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta,” it said in the statement.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday that Italy would not have opened its ports to “criminals” who had committed an act of piracy.
More than 100 migrants hijack a merchant vessel that rescued them off Libya's coast, ordering the crew to head towards Malta. Malta's military said the ship would not be allowed into its waters.