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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has called for the release of Carola Rackete. REUTERS / Carlos Julio Martinez

She is the new heroine of Germany: Carola Rackete, the captain of the humanitarian ship Sea-Watch III who stopped on Saturday on the Italian island of Lampedusa. She had docked with 40 migrants rescued by the boat, despite the refusal of the Italian authorities to accommodate them. Many German officials have expressed their solidarity with the young woman and support campaigns have been launched.

With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut

" The real European ". One of the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau on Monday with the portrait of Carola Rackete illustrates the wave of solidarity enjoyed by the captain of Sea-Watch III in his country.

A call launched on YouTube by two stars of the television calling for donations to finance the costs of a trial against the young German has until Monday evening collected 850,000 euros.

Politicians also supported Carola Rackete . " A person who saves lives can not be a criminal, " said President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The Foreign Minister said that rescue at sea was not a crime, but a " humanitarian act ". Heiko Maas added that if Carola Rackete was not to be released, this could lead to " serious irritation " in bilateral relations between Germany and Italy.

► See also: Captain Carola Rackete, heroine for some, "annoying" for others

Only the far-right party AfD sees things differently. For the Alternative for Germany, Carola Rackete is not a heroine, but a criminal who must be put in prison.

The daily Tagesspiegel regrets that it took a young German girl to be apprehended for the political class to react and for many donations to be collected.