Italy’s Salvini risks six years in prison in migrant rescue prevention case

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Lega leader Matteo Salvini risks six years in prison as he has been charged with kidnapping and neglect of duty by preventing the NGO vessel Open Arms from docking in Lampedusa in 2019.

The prosecutor’s office of Palermo requested the sentence for Salvini who is also the country’s transport minister.

"Six years in prison for stopping landings and defending Italy and Italians? Madness. Defending Italy is not a crime, and I will never give in,” Salvini, who is set to present his defence on 18 October, said in a video posted on social media.

The charges levelled against Salvini relate to his decision as interior minister in August 2019 to deny Spanish NGO ship Open Arms permission to disembark 147 migrants rescued at sea in the port of Lampedusa, leaving the ship stranded at sea for 19 days.

As interior minister, he imposed a 'closed ports' policy, under which Italy refused entry to charity ships rescuing migrants in distress in the Mediterranean. He often accused humanitarian organisations of indirectly facilitating human trafficking.

The prosecution, which presented its case in Salvini's absence, cited international conventions and argued that border protection - Salvini's main defence - cannot disregard human rights. It also stressed that the people on board were not in danger and that the ship was operating within the law.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed strong support for her government ally, stating, "Turning the duty to protect Italy’s borders from illegal immigration into a crime sets a dangerous precedent. I offer my complete solidarity to Minister Salvini."

French Rassemblement National figurehead Marine Le Pen also sided with him: “For his efforts to end migrant trafficking and protect Italy’s borders when he was Interior Minister, @matteosalvinimi has faced severe legal harassment meant to silence him. The trial and proposed six-year sentence are especially alarming at a time when the migrant burden is increasing across Europe. We stand united with you, Matteo.”

Even billionaire and X owner Elon Musk spoke in Salvini’s favour, tweeting: "That crazy prosecutor should be the one going to prison for six years. This is insane."

Meanwhile, opposition parties in Italy were very critical, sharply criticising Meloni’s support for Salvini.

“I found Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s intervention highly inappropriate, as we believe the executive and judicial branches should remain separate and independent,” said Elly Schlein, secretary of the Democratic Party (PD, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, S&D).

Other leftist leaders, including  Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra Secretary Nicola Fratoianni, also condemned Meloni’s comments.

This is “not a political trial, nor a trial against Italy, but simply a trial against someone who held 147 people hostage. If this was done for political purposes, that makes it all the more serious,” said Fratoianni.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)