(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 13 - The Italian chapter of migrant-rescue NGO Sea Watch said on Wednesday it would not be intimidated by "anti-democratic bullies" after tech tycoon Elon Musk called it a "criminal organization" on his platform X.
    "We will not be intimidated by anti-democratic bullies who threaten those who respect human rights, judges or NGOs", Sea Watch Italia wrote on X.
    "He calls us criminals.
    "Our only 'crime' is to bear testimony to brutal policies at sea, like failing to rescue" migrants, the NGO wrote, mentioning a shipwreck off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on September 2 in which 21 people died.
    The Tesla, X and SpaceX owner Musk late on Tuesday wrote on his platform that the German NGO is a "criminal organization" after the group accused him of threatening the Italian justice system over his criticism of the decision by Rome judges not to validate the detention of a second group of migrants taken to new Italian-run centres in Albania.
    "These judges need to go," Musk wrote via X on a user's post on the news of the suspension of the validation of the detention of seven migrants decided by the immigration section of the Court of Rome, which referred the case to the European Court of Justice.
    It is the second time the multi-billionaire, who was appointed by US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to head a newly created government efficiency agency, has spoken out on Italian migration.
    Last year, Musk slammed Germany's policy of helping charities that rescue migrants and take them to Italy's shores. (ANSA).