Migrante soccorso in mare: indiziato di reato o testimone?

The paper analyzes the controversial issue of the role in which migrants rescued at sea must be heard in the proceedings for the crime of aiding illegal entry: as witnesses or as suspects of a related crime, the latter represented by the illegal entry contravention ex art. 10-bis l. n. 941/2009. Considering that the arrival of the foreigner in Italian territory (land surface or coastal sea) without a regular document inevitably integrates the details of the aforementioned crime, the opening of a criminal proceeding appears to be a duty, with the consequence that the migrant must be questioned as a defendant in related proceedings. The opposite solution of hearing the migrant as a witness is detrimental to the right of defense, as well as to the principle that the rules of criminal procedure must be laid down by law.