He's 20 years in prison because he saved a thousand immigrants.

Pia Klemp, 35, is accused of helping people enter Europe illegally and from North Africa. Italian authorities claim it has co-operated with immigrant traffickers in the Mediterranean.

Civil police have provided photos of people allegedly showing trafficking on a loaded ship and immigrants. Libyan traffickers receive thousands of dollars in immigrants to join Europe.

Ships often used for transportation are not common, and they often sabotage if they are stuck in the water in order to intervene vessels dealing with the rescue of immigrants.

Klemp, who is from the German city of Bon, is a member of Sea Watch an organisation that sets ships at sea to rescue asylum seekers in the Mediterranean.

Its supporters, 80 thousand of whom have signed the petition urging authorities in Italy to drop the charges, say it has personally saved hundreds of people.