On March 27, the Turkish merchant vessel Elhibru 1 rescued about 108 people – including 19 women and 12 children – near the Libyan coast. When they received the information that they were to be taken back to Libya, the migrants hijacked the ship and ordered the crew to head towards Malta.  After receiving news of the hijacking, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy PM, blocked the ship from arriving in Italy saying that “these are not migrants in distress, they are pirates”. Humanitarian groups such as SeaWatch advocated that migrant’s actions “were in self-defense against the deadly consequences forced upon them by Europe’s inhumane border policy.” On March 29, the Maltese armed forces restored control over the vessel and escorted it to Boilers Wharf, a dock in La Valletta. The migrants were then “handed over to police for further investigations”, as stated by the Maltese government. Since then, three teenage migrants aged 19, 16 and 15 have been charged with terrorist activities, as hijacking a vessel is considered a terrorist act under Maltese law. All three deny the charges and will be facing 30 years in jail if found guilty. Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Twitter that the Maltese armed forces had “conducted a sensitive operation on high seas”. “We do not shirk responsibility despite our size”, he added and assured that “all international rules will be followed” as police investigate the incident.