Italian Deputy PM Salvini Acquitted in Migrant Blockade Case

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has been acquitted in a protracted legal proceeding concerning his decision to prevent a migrant rescue vessel from docking in Italy during 2019. In the Sicilian city of Palermo, judges exonerated him from two charges: kidnap and dereliction of duty. Prosecutors had previously requested a six-year prison sentence. Mr. Salvini, who serves as the leader of the right-wing Lega party and is a government partner to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has consistently asserted that his only culpability stemmed from his desire to “protect Italy.” Addressing reporters outside the courthouse on Friday, he stated, “I have kept my promises, combating mass immigration and reducing departures, landings and deaths at sea.” According to Ansa news agency, upon the verdict’s announcement, Mr. Salvini made a gesture of triumph by clenching his fists and embraced his girlfriend, film producer Francesca Verdini. The legal proceedings commenced in September 2021, centering on an instance when Mr. Salvini, then serving as interior minister, aimed to halt irregular migrants traversing the Mediterranean by closing Italy’s ports. He had issued an instruction to prevent the NGO vessel named Open Arms from docking on the island of Lampedusa, subsequent to its rescue of 147 migrants off the coast of Libya. The Open Arms stayed at sea for nearly three weeks, during which the health conditions of the migrants aboard significantly worsened. Ultimately, Luigi Patronaggio, the prosecutor in the Sicilian city of Agrigento, mandated the vessel’s precautionary seizure following an inspection where he observed the “difficult situation on board.” The captain of the Open Arms and several individuals rescued from the sea participated as civil parties in the legal action, which commenced in September 2021. The three female prosecutors involved in this case have been placed under police protection due to experiencing online harassment and receiving threats. One of these prosecutors, Geri Ferrara, informed the court in September that human rights must take precedence over the “protection of state sovereignty.” She asserted, “A person stranded at sea must be saved and it is irrelevant whether they are classified as a migrant, a crewmember or a passenger.” Mr. Salvini asserted that the Giuseppe Conte government, which was in power at the time, had provided him with complete support for his objective to “close the ports” of Italy to NGO rescue vessels. Over recent months, the deputy prime minister had repeatedly mentioned the trial and the impending verdict in his social media communications, as well as during public addresses and interviews. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed her support for her deputy prime minister, stating that he had her and her government’s “solidarity.” Earlier this year, she posted on X, “Turning the duty to protect Italy’s borders from illegal immigration into a crime is a very serious precedent.” Following the verdict, Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region and a fellow member of the Lega party, commented that justice had been served. He posted on Facebook, “Salvini acted in the legitimate interest of our country and in full respect for his institutional responsibilities.” Mr. Salvini had faced criticism subsequent to his remarks that the Italian judiciary was “politicised” and that certain magistrates were “clearly following left-wing politics.” Elly Schlein, who leads the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, accused him of “spreading propaganda and fuelling a serious institutional clash.” Members of Mr. Salvini’s Lega party demonstrated their support for him. On Wednesday, Lega MEPs attended a European Parliament session in Strasbourg, wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Guilty of defending Italy,” a slogan previously employed by Mr. Salvini. On Friday, the current Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, stated that regardless of the verdict, it would not impact the government. Nevertheless, Andrea Crippa, the Lega deputy secretary, had cautioned that a guilty verdict would be “like convicting the entire Italian people, the Italian parliament and the elected government.” Individuals outside Italy have also engaged in the discussion. Elon Musk tweeted, “That mad prosecutor should be the one who goes to prison for six years,” while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close associate of Mr. Salvini, characterized the trial as “shameful.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.