NGO vessel protesters don dog costumes as court case delayed further

Valletta (dpa) - Crew members from NGO migrant rescue vessels donned dog costumes to protest against Malta‘s prime minister as a court case over boat registration was once again delayed.The protest was held in Valletta as the German captain of the vessel Lifeline, Claus-Peter Reisch, faced charges of steering an unregistered boat in June.Wearing dog outfits, protesters poured scorn on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat after he tweeted a picture of a dog brought to Malta along with 58 rescued migrants on Sunday."We call on the international media not to let Bella the dog‘s journey go unnoticed, nor to let the thousands of drowning people steal her limelight. If only they had been born dogs, instead of children, women and men; maybe then they would have been worthy of our attention," the Lifeline NGO said in a statement.The vessel, which was carrying 234 migrants, was stranded at sea for six days when Italy and Malta both refused to let it enter their ports. The incident sparked a crackdown on migrant NGO vessels operating in the central Mediterranean.The German captain complained of "delaying tactics" in Malta on Tuesday, as his court hearing was once again postponed."How many times are we going to come here to be told there has been no progress in the case? These are simply delaying tactics," Claus-Peter Reisch told reporters.The court case was postponed because documentation related to the boat from the Dutch authorities was still pending. The case continues on November 19.