ROME (AP) — Italian prosecutors on Saturday demanded a six-year prison sentence for the leader of the right-wing Lega Matteo Salvin i for his decision to ban more than 100 migrants from entering Italy when he was interior minister in 2019. If convicted, Salvini could be barred from holding government office.
Prosecutors in the city of Palermo have accused Salvini – who is currently deputy prime minister and transport minister in the right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni – of alleged kidnapping for leaving a migrant rescue ship operated by a charity Open Arms was stranded at sea for 19 days.
During the 2019 standoff, some migrants threw themselves overboard in desperation as the captain pleaded for a safe, nearby port. The remaining 89 people on board were eventually allowed to disembark following an order from a court in Lampedusa.
“I would do it again: defending borders against illegal immigrants is not a crime,” Salvini said on his social media on Saturday.
His lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, is due to give her defence statement in Palermo on 18 October, and an initial verdict could follow later this month. A conviction – which in Italy is final only after a three-stage judicial process – could bar Salvini from holding public office.
Meloni and several ministers in her government expressed their solidarity with the League leader and defended his decisions. Since coming to power in 2022, Meloni has promised a tougher approach to migrationwith the aim of preventing potential refugees from paying smugglers for the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean.
“It is incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison for carrying out his task of defending the country’s borders, as required by the mandate received from his citizens,” the Italian Prime Minister wrote on X.
Salvini pursued a tough policy on migration during his tenure as interior minister in Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s first government, from 2018 to 2019.
He introduced a policy of “closed ports”, with Italy denying access to charity ships rescuing migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, and has repeatedly accused humanitarian organisations of effectively encouraging people smuggling.
