A SPANISH firefighter faces 20 years in an Italian prison after saving thousands of refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in 2017.

Miguel Roldan is accused by the far-right Italian government of “aiding human trafficking and illegal immigration” for his actions as a volunteer with Jugend Rettet, a German NGO which carries out operations with Dutch ship the Iuventa.

Mr Roldan’s team, which included 10 other people, rescued an estimated 14,000 people from drowning in just 20 days back in 2017. It is not clear whether the other 10 face charges.

Moves to prosecute Mr Roldas followed a session of the Italian parliament in May 2017, when Jugend Rettet was accused of colluding with migrant smugglers. 

Jugend Rettet denied the allegations, but Italian authorities opened investigations against individual members, including Mr Roldas, last July.

The firefighter explained his distress, saying he was caught up in “a vortex of worry” over the charges and possible prison sentence.

He told of gruelling 18-hour shifts on the ship, often spent in total darkness, as he and his fellow volunteers searched for migrant ships in the Mediterranean. The organisation’s efforts are hampered by strict government legislation and the policies of official bodies including Rome’s Search and Rescue Control Centre.

“It’s unbelievable. We respect the rules so much that we’ve watched people die because of bureaucracy. The accusation is a huge slap in the face,” Mr Roldan said.

He worked on the Iuventa in June 2017, using 20 days’ annual leave from his job as a firefighter in Seville. During that period, the ship managed to save at least 5,000 refugees who were around 17 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, then another 14,000 in the following weeks.

The Iuventa was seized by Italian authorities in August 2017 and an investigation into the crew was launched for “facilitating illegal immigration.”

Denying any wrongdoing, Jugend Rittet founder Sascha Girke said: “Since the beginning of the operation, we’ve co-operated directly and completely with the Italian authorities.”

The investigation is due to finish in the summer and the group hopes that no prosecutions will follow. However, it highlights the fact that they are dealing with Italy’s rabidly anti-immigrant government.

Mr Roldas said: “Even just one minute spent in jail for saving lives would be too much.”