Carola Rackete, the 31-year-old German captain of a migrant rescue vessel, was detained in Italy after refusing to stand down in the face of military orders. Italy had banned the Sea-Watch ship from entering its waters.
Italian prosecutors requested the judge uphold a house arrest order in place since she was detained over the weekend. But the judge overturned the order, saying Rackete was "doing her duty saving human lives."
"We are relieved our captain is free," Sea-Watch International said in a tweet. "There were no grounds to keep her arrested, as her only 'wrongdoing' was to enforce human rights on the Mediterranean and to take responsibility where none of the European governments did."
Rackete captained a vessel carrying more than 40 migrants. After weeks at sea, she decided to port in Lampedusa, dismissing a military order banning her vessel from entering Italian territorial waters. While attempting to dock her ship, she rammed into a police boat that was trying to block her maneuvers.
From escalating violence in the Middle East and Africa to incoherent asylum policy at home - DW looks at how the EU has found itself in the midst of a refugee crisis.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Fleeing war and poverty
In late 2014, with the war in Syria approaching its fourth year and Islamic State making gains in the north of the country, the exodus of Syrians intensified. At the same time, others were fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger and Kosovo.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Seeking refuge over the border
Vast numbers of Syrian refugees had been gathering in border-town camps in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan since 2011. By 2015, with the camps full to bursting and residents often unable to find work or educate their children, more and more people decided to seek asylum further afield.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A long journey on foot
In 2015 an estimated 1.5 million people made their way on foot from Greece towards western Europe via the "Balkan route". The Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel within much of the EU, was called into question as refugees headed towards the wealthier European nations.
Image: Getty Images/M. Cardy
Desperate sea crossings
Tens of thousands of refugees were also attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats. In April 2015, 800 people of various nationalities drowned when a boat traveling from Libya capsized off the Italian coast. This was to be just one of many similar tragedies - by the end of the year, nearly 4,000 refugees were reported to have died attempting the crossing.
Image: Reuters/D. Zammit Lupi
Pressure on the borders
Countries along the EU's external border struggled to cope with the sheer number of arrivals. Fences were erected in Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Asylum laws were tightened and several Schengen area countries introduced temporary border controls.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/B. Mohai
Closing the open door
Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" refugee policy claimed it had made the situation worse by encouraging more people to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe. By September 2016, Germany had also introduced temporary checks on its border with Austria.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Striking a deal with Turkey
In early 2016, the EU and Turkey signed an agreement under which refugees arriving in Greece could be sent back to Turkey. The deal has been criticized by human rights groups and came under new strain following a vote by the European Parliament in November to freeze talks on Turkey's potential accession to the EU.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Altan
No end in sight
With anti-immigration sentiment in Europe growing, governments are still struggling to reach a consensus on how to handle the continuing refugee crisis. Attempts to introduce quotas for the distribution of refugees among EU member states have largely failed. Conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere show no signs coming to an end, and the death toll from refugee sea crossings is on the rise.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Mitrolidis
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Trafficking claims
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the far-right League Party, has threatened to use any means necessary to prevent vessels rescuing migrants off the coast of Libya from entering Italy. He has accused them of human trafficking.
But Sicily-based prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio on Tuesday told Italian lawmakers that investigators have yet to find evidence that rescue vessels, such as the Sea-Watch 3, were implicated in a trafficking scheme to funnel migrants to Europe
Human rights groups have criticized Salvini's "repressive management of the migratory phenomenon," saying it undermines the EU's core values.
Nearly half a million irregular migrants have crossed the central Mediterranean and made landfall in Italy since 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration. Since January 340 migrants have died attempting the dangerous journey.
